The Rawalpindi police have taken into custody four employees, including a doctor, of a private hospital for ‘treating’ an alleged extremist, who was being taken back by his accomplices from the hospital before a crossfire with the Dolphin Force officials a couple of days ago.
A police constable embraced martyrdom in the crossfire, while another cop and a citizen suffered gunshot wounds. The injured suspect, who belongs to a high-profile extremist group, and his accomplice were also arrested during a raid at a private hospital on Peshawar Road.
The Waris Khan police, who earlier registered a case under murder and attempted murder sections and the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), have transferred the case to the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Rawalpindi for investigation.
Sources told The Express Tribune that during the investigation the police established that the accused belonged to the Tank district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. One of their accomplices was injured during a clash with the law enforcement agencies in Tan. The injured was brought to a hospital on Peshawar Road in Rawalpindi for treatment where he was admitted. After being treated, the suspects were taking their accomplice back when they had a face-off with the Dolphin Force personnel in Saddar, they added. The suspects opened fire on the patrolling officials near the Committee Chowk, killing one cop and injuring another. The suspects then ran away after abandoning the vehicle. During their run, the suspects snatched two motorcycles for transportation.
The sources further said that the investigators found important information about extremists, photos and a license from their car. The SSP Operations ordered to block all entries and exits of the entire Rawalpindi district to arrest the suspects with the help of images.
It has been learned from sources that during the investigation, the police traced the private hospital and detained a doctor and three staff members who had treated the high-profile accused. The suspect was also taken into custody.
Investigators quizzed the detained staff for initiating treatment without seeking a police report and alerting the police as the suspect remained admitted for two days. The hospital staff stated that the injured suspect pleaded that he received a bullet during a quarrel.
Meanwhile, the police have formally taken three members of the hospital including a doctor into custody for further investigation, issued arrest warrants for two accomplices of the detained suspects and shared information about two other accomplices with the Punjab police and the Islamabad police.
It is learned that the police also approached Nadra for the identification of runway suspects with the help of photographs, but no official record was found. A senior officer said that six suspects have now been handed over to the CTD officials for investigations.
Published in The Express Tribune May 3rd, 2024.
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