RAWALPINDI: Three policemen have been arrested for snatching cash from an overseas Pakistani in the Dhamial area of the garrison city, while two policemen of Pirwadhai police – also booked for extorting money from a citizen – have yet to be arrested.

Zabiullah, a resident of Mirpur, lodged an FIR with the Dhamial police, saying that he along with his driver reached the Islamabad International Airport on April 24 near midnight to see off some of his guests who were departing for Dubai.

He said that when he reached a police check-post, some police officials signaled the driver to stop the car and conducted a search of the driver and his guests. During the search, the police officials snatched two expensive mobile phones and two tins of Multani Halwa from them.

After that, they handcuffed them and took them to the nearby woods (jungle) and demanded Rs200,000 from them and threatened to put them behind bars, the FIR said.

Two Pirwadhai police officials booked for extorting money yet to be arrested

The complainant said that his driver was deprived of Rs20,000, which he was keeping with him at that time. Later, he he was forcibly taken to the ATM of the airport branch to withdraw Rs50,000. ASI Atif kept on guarding his guest even inside the ATM vestibule.

He said that his driver Yaqoob was later detained in a nearby room, while Zubair Ahmed, a constable, kept the guard outside the room. However, after snatching one cell phone from his guards, they allowed them to proceed to the airport to travel to Dubai.

The complainant said that he came to the airport on May 2, 2025, when he tried to take photographs of the police officials, they started quarrelling with him, tore his clothes, and threatened him with dire consequences.

He said he called the emergency police helpline and after the police reached there, the officials returned him Rs16,000 via Easypaisa.

Following the complaint by Zabiullah, the police registered a robbery case against the three police officials on charges of abusing their powers and they were arrested. A police spokesman said that CPO Syed Khalid Hamdani had taken notice of the incident and ordered the registration of a case against the police officials. He said that departmental action had also been initiated against the police officials involved in the crime.

Pirdwadhai police

Two officials of the Pirwadhai police were booked after the victim approached the complaint cell of the chief minister, the Punjab police chief, the RPO Rawalpindi, and the Special Branch DIG, prompting an inquiry into the allegations. The inquiry found a constable and a head constable guilty and led to the registration of an FIR.

In his FIR, Farooq Khan said that he was meeting with Zameen Khan near Pirwadhai Mor on March 19 in his car when two police officials approached them and checked his CNIC and car registration. In the meantime, three more police officials in plainclothes appeared on the scene and asked him to come with them to the police station.

He said that they took him in a car which was without a registration plate and kept on demanding money while roaming on different roads for about one hour. Later, he said that he was taken to a “private torture cell” where another person had already been detained. The complainant said he was handcuffed and tortured the entire night. He said he was tortured even when he was on a call with family to arrange money for the police officials.

He said: “They demanded Rs2 million from me and after getting Rs400,000 from his family, they bundled me into a car and dropped me near Mandi Mor and kept the registration book of my car with them as a guarantee for paying Rs100,000 to them.”

A police spokesman said an FIR has been registered against the two police officials on charges of extorting money from a citizen and misusing their powers.

However, they have yet to be arrested by the police.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2025