LAHORE: Two police constables were killed when four motorcyclists opened fire at a police picket in the Iqbal Town police precincts on Wednesday.
The assailants managed to flee from the crime scene after the attack. According to details, police constables Asif and Mubashar of Iqbal Town Police Station were performing their routine duty at a picket near Bhekhay Wala Chowk along with other police personnel when four masked men riding two motorcycles came there and opened fire at them. As a result, constables Asif and Mubashar were injured seriously. They were taken to a nearby hospital where they succumbed to their wounds.
Dr Haider Ashraf, deputy inspector general of police for operations, senior superintendent of police for investigation and other police officials reached the scene and reviewed the situation. The police high-ups visited the hospital where doctors informed them that both policemen had succumbed to their wounds. According to the doctors, one policeman received two bullets in his chest and the other received two bullets in his head.
Later, police shifted the bodies of the dead policemen to the city mortuary for their autopsies. Police had not registered the case till the filing of this report.
Ashraf said that three police teams had been formed to investigate the matter. He said that police cordoned off the area and launched a search operation. He said that four masked men opened indiscriminate fire at the policemen. He said the culprits would be arrested soon.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif took notice of the firing at the police picket in Iqbal Town and sought a report from the capital city police officer. He expressed a deep sense of sorrow and grief at the death of the police constables in the firing incident and offered his condolences to the bereaved families. The chief minister told the authorities to arrest the culprits as soon as possible.
Separately, a polio worker was injured when two motorcyclists opened fire at a polio team near Chauburji in the Sanda police precincts on Wednesday.
Police said that two gunmen fired shots at the polio team, leaving polio worker Umar Khan injured. Khan was shifted to Mayo Hospital for treatment.Police said they were not informed about the polio campaign in the area.
