Four arrested for festive firing

PESHAWAR: The Capital City Police authorities arrested four persons for festive firing in Gulbahar and served show cause notices to the police officers, officials concerned said on Sunday.

Video of celebratory firing, said to be in wedding of relative of a police officer in Gulbahar, was circulated on social media after which police officials ordered probe into it as there is already a ban on the practice.

An official said that four persons identified in the video, Waseem, Abbas, Ameen Khan and Salim were arrested. Show cause notices were served on relevant police officials for failure to stop the practice.

The police have launched a campaign across Peshawar to discourage celebratory firing in weddings and other functions.

According to Senior Superintendent of Police Operations Javed Iqbal Wazir, 137 cases were registered and 160 accused were charged during a campaign against festive firing in the provincial capital between March 16 and 25.

The SSP Operations said that the officials heading the sub divisions and the police stations are carrying out an awareness campaign in their areas to discourage the practice. Thousands of rounds are fired in air in Peshawar, especially the rural and suburban towns, putting the lives of a number of people in risk.

A minor was killed in the limits of the Badaber police station on March 24 when a stray bullet hit him. A large number of people have lost lives while many paralyzed when hit by stray bullets in Peshawar and other districts of the province.