RAWALPINDI, April 22: The Airport police on Friday arrested a dozen security guards of a housing society on charges of obstructing the police in the course of their duty.
The guards stopped the police escorting political adviser to the Punjab chief minister MPA Sarfraz Afzal from entering Bahria Town Wednesday night, police said. In addition to putting the 12 guards in the lockup, the police also seized three vehicles, five wireless sets and one motorbike. Police were raiding the area for the arrest of other accused.
Police official Mohammad Akmal Niazi, who was leading the squad, alleged that as their vehicles reached the entry gate of Bahria Town, the private guards stopped the police van and disallowed them from going inside.
He said: “The armed guards told us as per the directive of the management they cannot allow the Punjab police inside. The guards pointed their guns at us when we tried to move inside and tried to snatch their guns.”
He said as they moved towards Shujaat Saleem`s house, a friend of the MPA, they called the senior security officials of Bahria Town who along with dozens of `private commandos` arrived there and blocked the police squad and the MPA`s vehicle.
According to the FIR, “A group of 25 to 30 private security guards on their vehicles, led by their commander Col (retired) Mujhaid and Imtiaz reached the residence of Shujaat Saleem and first introduced themselves and later ordered their commandos to cordon our vans and snatch our guns.”
He claimed that the `commandos` blocked the police and Mr Afzal`s vehicle.
The police official said they had to face the same situation at the exit gate where they somehow managed to reach. The guards told them that they could not be allowed to leave until their administration permitted them.
Later on Thursday morning, the MPA had a meeting with senior police officers and brought the incident to their notice which led to the registration of a criminal case against the Bahria Town administration and security staff.
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