LAHORE               -             A Deputy Inspector General of Punjab Police was wounded when a Constable attacked him with a knife at Police Lines in Qila Gujjar Singh late Saturday night.

A police officer on Sunday told The Nation that the suspect, a serving policeman, was detained by nearby police guards from the crime scene and sent to a police facility for interrogation.

“According to investigations conducted so far, the suspect was suffering from mental disorder. But, we are investigating the incident thoroughly,” the officer said, requesting anonymity.  The incident took place inside Police Lines Qila Gujjar Singh shortly before Saturday midnight.

DIG Shehzad Aslam Siddiki was on a stroll when Constable Rafiq attacked him with a keychain knife.

As a result, the DIG sustained injuries on his chest and forehead. He was immediately rushed to Services Hospital where he was given urgent medical treatment. The DIG was later discharged from the hospital after his condition got stable.

The motives behind the brazen assault were not clear yet.

Police officer Bilal Zafar while responding to some media reports said a criminal case was registered against Constable Rafiq. The suspect is being interrogated in police custody, he said. Contrary to what is being reported in media, the officer said, there is no evidence to suggest any admonishment or ‘daant dapat’ by DIG Shehzad Siddiki.

“A constable named Rafiq while on lines duty at 11:30pm, last night, attacked DIG Shehzad Siddiki while he was walking inside the lines,” Zafar tweeted on Sunday afternoon. Reportedly, the constable is getting treatment for epilepsy and still not providing any sensible answers. He appears to be mentally upset/ unfit. A medical board will examine him tomorrow,” Zafar said.

Bothe the Lahore DIG and SSP (Investigation) have interrogated the accused, he said. “As per initial findings, there is no apparent cause of previous work attachment/ history of constable with DIG Shehzad.” 

Such inside attacks are rare in the history of the Punjab Police, otherwise a disciplined force. The attack surprised many officers in town as police intensified security of headquarters. 

According to police sources, the DIG offered resistance during the attack but later fell on the ground as the attacker stabbed him repeatedly. Following the incident, the DIG went to Quarter Guards and directed the policemen to arrest him. Later, the police registered an attempted murder case against the suspect on the complaint of the victim. The FIR was lodged under Section 324 of the Pakistan Penal Code. The condition of DIG was said to be out of danger.

DIG Shehzad Siddiki of the Establishment Division was on his way home when Constable Mohammad Rafiq approached and attacked him with knife near the mosque in the Police Lines. Reportedly, the constable attacked the DIG after a handshake.

A Lahore police spokesperson confirmed that the constable was never posted under the DIG.

He had also never been scolded by him, the spokesman clarified. He said Constable Rafiq was recently transferred to Police Lines from the Investigation Wing. The spokesperson said the suspect was suffering from epilepsy and he was currently under treatment. The constable used to remain absent from duty because of his illness, he added.