Rawalpindi-A female in charge of an anti-polio team was brutally attacked by unknown assailants in the Dhamial area while administering polio drops to children under five years old, according to informed sources on Monday. The injured female in charge (Union Council Medical Officer) was rushed to the hospital for medical treatment.
Interestingly, the district government and police have seemingly ignored this grave incident and have not initiated any legal action against the accused allegedly involved in the attack on the female in charge during a five-day polio campaign launched in August 2023 by the Punjab government.
According to sources, an anti-polio team, led by UCMO/In-charge Ms AZ, was conducting a door-to-door campaign to vaccinate children under five years of age with polio drops in Jamia Mosque Ibrahim Street, adjacent to Dhamial Kalyal Road. The polio team was administering polio drops when unknown assailants struck the female UCMO over the head with a stone, apparently from the third floor of a house. Sources say blood started oozing from the head of the female in charge, and she was immediately taken to the hospital, where doctors applied approximately 8 stitches to stop the bleeding. The incident occurred on August 11 at 1:30 p.m.
However, the police, district government, and health department have seemingly overlooked the incident. “We had gone there to do our duty with the polio team,” said the female in charge. “Suddenly, something hard hit my head, and I lost consciousness, with blood starting to ooze from my head,” she explained. She further stated that no legal action has been taken against the culprit involved in the attack on her during the anti-polio campaign.
When contacted by The Nation for comments, Superintendent of Police (SP) Saddar Division Muhammad Nabeel Khokhar said that the police were unaware of the incident, as nobody had approached them for legal action. Caretaker Health Minister Punjab Dr. Jamal Nasir and CEO Health Dr Ijaz did not respond to a questionnaire sent to their cell numbers regarding the attack on the female in charge of the anti-polio team in a densely populated area of Rawalpindi and the actions taken by them.