Policemen protest death of two colleagues at training facility

NOWSHERA: The under-training policemen Thursday staged a protest against the death of two cops during a tough training session at the Joint Elite Police Training Centre and beat up an instructor at the facility, leaving him critically injured.
About 500 cops chanted slogans against the officials of the training facility for what they said was their harsh attitude towards the under-training cops. The cops alleged that the two cops died due to the negligence of the instructors on Wednesday and for not receiving timely medication, while 35 more cops were admitted to the District Headquarters Hospital on the second day.
The angry protesters beat up an instructor Shafiqullah, leaving him critically wounded. He fell unconscious and was rushed to the District Headquarters Hospital. Reports said that other instructors managed to escape the wrath of the charged protesting cops. The cops also ransacked and damaged equipment at the facility.
Talking to reporters, constables Adan and Barkat said that it was the first day of their training session at the Joint Elite Police Training Centre. They said the instructors first made them run for four kilometers and later forced them to stand in the sizzling heat.
They said that 30 to 40 cops fainted due to heatstroke and humidity and fell on the ground. They alleged the instructors started kicking the fainted cops instead of providing them first-aid or shifting them to a hospital for medical assistance.
The constables alleged the instructors put dust in the mouths of the fainted cops instead of giving them water that may have resulted in the blockage of their airways and caused the death to two cops.
They said the unconscious cops were lying on the ground in the sweltering heat for several hours, which further deteriorated their condition. The constables said the heatwave-hit cops were shifted to the hospital late at the evening. They said the two cops died due to the inhuman attitude and not receiving timely medication.
Sources in the hospital said that most of the cops suffered heatstroke and gastro. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Nasir Khan Durrani took note of the incident. He ordered a high-level inquiry into the occurrence.
The police chief directed the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Mardan range Saeed Khan Wazir and District Police Officer (DPO) Nowshera Rab Nawaz Khan to investigate the matter and dispatch him a detailed report.
Meanwhile, Saeed Khan and Rab Nawaz Khan visited the Joint Elite Police Training Centre and recorded statements of the cops. They also dispatched the preliminary report to the IGP about the incident.