12 suspects arrested for attacking polio team

The Sachal police arrested 12 suspects involved in an attack on a polio team the Gulzar-e-Hijri area of the city on Thursday morning.

An FIR was registered after the incident that occurred at around 11:30am. It said ASI Hussain Bakhsh, along with Head Constable Muhammad Hanif, Police Constable Saeed Ahmed and others, were busy performing duty with polio teams, when 20 to 25 people came, started misbehaving towards a polio team inside a lane of Bakhar Gabol Goth, Scheme 33, and said they would not let the polio drops be administered.

Official said District Health Officer (DHO) East Zahid Solangi, the deputy district polio officer and other officials, along with police personnel, were conducting an anti-polio drive in an area inhabited by the Mahsud community near Abul Hassan Ispahani Road when a group of miscreants initially verbally abused the polio team and later physically assaulted them.

The attackers also pelted stones at a police mobile and targeted senior officials, including the DHO, DDPO and field staff. After DHO Zahid Solangi, who accompanied the polio team, told the team to continue administering drops to children, the attackers started fighting with the polio team and beat them up. At this, an ASI provided security to the team and the DHO and saved them from the crowd, whose dispersion caused panic among the public.

Of the attackers, three were caught on the spot for interfering in the government work and were questioned. They identified themselves as Dawood Khan, Sohrab Khan and Taj Muhammad. Their accomplices who interfered in the government work and pelted stones at the police party and government vehicles managed to escape.

Later, more suspects were arrested. The 12 arrested men included Shah Nawaz, Muhammad Ali, Adnan, Muhammad Yasir, Sabir Ullaha, Tahir Khan, Ghulam Sarwar, Ghareeb Ali, and Usman Shaukat.