RAWALPINDI, Feb 25: A guard of the district police officer (DPO) assaulted a vigilance staff member of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) at Islamabad airport, an official source told Dawn.

The incident occurred when the CAA staffer, Mr Mehfooz, asked DPO Syed Moravat Shah, who was in plain clothes, to prove his identity at a security checkpoint at the airport, the source said.

Mr Mehfooz signalled the car in which the DPO was travelling to stop at the entry point of the VIP car parking and asked the occupant to prove his identity. After the DPO identified himself, his car was allowed to proceed. However, later the DPO asked his guards to bring the man who had stopped his car.

The guards beat up the CAA employee and produced him before Syed Moravat Shah, the source said. The DPO was surprised to see the terror-stricken man tumbling and complaining about the attitude of the police guards.

The issue was brought to the notice of the airport manager, Sohail Chohan, who complained to the DPO about the obdurate attitude of his guard. Syed Moravat Shah scolded his guard and ordered him to apologize to Mr Mehfooz, the source said. When the airport manager Sohail Chohan was contacted, he was not available at his office.