RAWALPINDI, Jan 8: Local police have raised 20 riot control squads to deal with violent street protests over gas and electricity crises and political agitation that endanger public peace, official sources said on Sunday.

Four hundred police personnel picked from all the police stations in the Rawalpindi will man the squads and officers chosen to command them have been screened for the job, according to the sources.

They will be equipped with anti-riot tools and stationed at the Rawalpindi Police Lines, ready at all times to go into action to do their task of crowd and riot control.

Places vacated at the police stations by the policemen assigned to the squads will be filled by men doing stationary duties at the police lines. Many police personnel in the lines have never been posted at police stations since they joined the force.

City Police Officer Azhar Hameed Khokhar believed that formation of the riot control squads would help the police recruits gain experience after replacing their senior colleagues.

The need to form the squads was felt during the recent violent street protests against gas shortage. During the protests, collecting police personnel from police lines and stationscaused considerable delay in dealing with the rioters. Quick response units have already been formed to perform counter-terrorist duties in the district.

In the summer last year, hundreds of policemen living in the police lines headquarters were found missing or absent. The then regional police officer (RPO) later confirmed that more than 700 policemen had been found absent or missing from the police lines.

He ordered an inquiry into the missing of policemen involving some high level officials. There were also over two dozen cops who were found absent from duty for more than two years.

It had been a common practice among the police officials residing in police lines headquarters to leave for their homes at night.