Crazy Cops Open Fire on a Passenger Bus Trying to Stop It

**kellyhound** · #1 ● 10-13-2018, 09:28 AM

At least two men were injured after a Motorway police officer opened fire on a passenger bus near Islamabad Motorway toll plaza.

Police say the bus (No LES-18-09), which was coming from Peshawar, was suspected to be carrying smuggled and non-custom paid items and was thus signaled to pull over.

A video captured by a an unidentified motorist who was travelling behind the bus at the time shows a Motorway patrol car chasing the bus and later the officers opening fire on the bus as it exited the Motorway.

A spokesperson for the Motorway police told that they had been alerted by the customs authorities in Peshawar that this specific bus was carrying non-custom paid goods. He said the bus staff misbehaved with an officer when he tried to stop and search the bus at the toll plaza.

He said a patrol car chased the bus when the driver tried to speed away, and after giving a chase and blowing their hooter for some time, they opened fire on the bus.

“Clearly, the officers were also at fault for opening fire on the bus. Both the officers have been suspended and an inquiry ordered against them,” the spokesperson said.

The patrol officers were identified as SI Shahid Gul and SI Aitezaz. At least one passenger, Gulfraz Khan, and the bus conductor Abdur Rehman were injured in the police firing.

Soon afterwards, an attempted murder case was registered against the two officers at the local Nasirabad police station on the complaint of the injured passenger.

While the injured passenger maintained in his complaint that both the officers fled the scene after they found that people had been injured, the spokesperson insisted that they did not escape, rather they took the injured to a nearby hospital and later to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital.

The Motorway police spokesperson said as per the claims of the two officers, they only shot in retaliation and the first fire was made from inside the bus. However, the local police who arrived and took the bus into their custody said neither the bus carried any smuggled or non-customs paid goods nor was there firing from inside the bus.

Local police said they were awaiting the outcome of the departmental inquiry against the two officers before taking any action. “We have taken the bus into our custody. No smuggled items were recovered from it. There was no firing from the bus,” an officer of the Rawalpindi police said.

Update: The three people, who had been critically injured after Motorway Police officials opened fire on a runaway passenger bus near Islamabad, are still waiting for justice nearly three months after the incident.

Gulfraz Khan, a passenger, who was shot in both of his legs and remains confined to a bed, has been unable to return to work and provide for his family.

“Both of my legs are broken. One has almost healed but the other will take more time [to heal],” Gulfraz told The Express Tribune.

“I have been on the bed ever since [the incident],” he added.

“I am the only breadwinner for my family. I have spent about Rs0.4 million on my treatment so far,” adds Gulfraz, who works as a welder in Jhelum but is currently living in a rented accommodation in Peshawar along with his wife, six daughters and three sons.

“All I demand is that those who shot me for no reason are arrested and punished for this. What was my crime? On whose orders did these officers open fire,” he asked.

Abdur Rehman, the conductor of the bus, was also critically injured in the incident, losing one of his eyes. Aadam, the bus manager, was also injured and remains bedridden.

“One of his lungs was damaged. He was operated upon and another procedure is also scheduled,” said Ghuncha Gul, the bus’ owner, of his bus manager.

Initially, the Motorway Police had claimed that the officers had responded to shots fired from the bus.

They had also claimed that the bus was carrying smuggled items.

However, the victims as well as local Rawalpindi police, who had reached the spot and took the bus into custody, said the bus neither carried any smuggled goods nor had anyone fired from inside the bus. “They [Motorway Police] did not signal the bus to pull over. Rather they had opened fire which frightened the driver who sped to a nearby exit to avoid being fired upon,” maintained Gulfraz.

The Motorway Police had subsequently suspended both its officers, SI Shahid Gul and SI Aitezaz, after the incident and ordered a departmental inquiry against them.

However, there has been no progress on the inquiry so far.

DSP Arbab Yawar Hayat, who was tasked with probing the incident, said that he had completed the inquiry but refused to share his findings.

The Rawalpindi police, which had registered an attempted murder case against the two motorway police officers on the complaint of the injured, too have made no progress on the case.

“The two officials are not appearing for questioning. We have written to IG Motorways. If they continue to evade the police inquiry, we will have to obtain warrants and arrest them,” said Nasir Mumtaz, a police officer at the Naseerabad police station who is tasked with investigating the case.

The motorway police had allegedly tried to submit a counter application, stating that the bus crew had resisted the attempts by its officers to pull over when signalled.

However, the local police turned down their application, noting that first the two officials will have to appear and become a part of the official investigation before any supplication by them can be considered.