IGP orders crackdown on underage drivers

LAHORE : IGP Punjab Dr Usman Anwer has directed a crackdown on underage drivers and animal carts on main roads, and announced strict, indiscriminate action against common violations under a zero-tolerance policy.

He issued these directions while chairing a high-level follow-up meeting at the Central Police Office on Wednesday. The meeting was convened to deliberate on implementing traffic reforms. The meeting finalised large-scale traffic reforms focusing on reducing accidents by 25%, improving licensing transparency, and enhancing enforcement through e-challaning and Safe Cities surveillance. He said body cams will be issued to officers, and evidence-based challans will become standard. Over 1,400 sites have been identified for road upgrades, and encroachments will be removed with district support. Senior police officials and traffic officers from across the province participated in the meeting in-person and via video link.

1,619 arrested in raids on gambling dens

Lahore Police arrested 1,619 suspects this year in connection with gambling-related offences and 413 cases were registered against them. The police spokesman said that more than Rs8.41 million in stake money were recovered from the arrested individuals.

Meanwhile, the CCPO Bilal Siddique Kamyana said that police operations were under way to dismantle gambling setups and online gambling networks. He directed the police to intensify the crackdown and to carry out intelligence-based raids against gambling dens. The noose was being tightened around those involved in online gambling, he said and directed to use modern technology to counter these activities effectively.

Bilal Siddique Kamyana also called for legal action against social media accounts and mobile applications promoting online gambling, urging collaboration with the Public Prosecution Department to ensure that cases were pursued to their logical conclusion. These efforts, he noted, were crucial to eliminating this harmful social practice from society.

Two found dead

Two unidentified men, both believed to be drug addicts, were found dead in separate areas of the City on Wednesday.

One body, believed to be of a 45-year-old man, was discovered on a footpath near EME Society in Chuhng. 'The deceased appears to have died due to drug abuse,' an Edhi spokesperson stated. In a separate incident, a decomposed body of a 50-year-old man was recovered from beneath the Shahdara flyover.