Driver handed over to Military Police after ‘Save Gaza’ accident in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: A driver who crushed two people to death on Jinnah Avenue on Monday in the jurisdiction of the Kohsar police station has been handed over to the Military Police for legal proceedings as he turned out to be a lieutenant of the Pakistan Army, said police on Friday.

Four people, including a police inspector, were also injured as the vehicle ran over the participants of a protest being held just outside the Red Zone in solidarity with Gaza. Subsequently, a case was registered at the Kohsar police station under sections 322, 337-G, 427 and 279 of the Pakistan Penal Code against the driver.

Police spokesperson Taqi Jawad said the driver was a lieutenant in the army and the son of a brigadier. He was handed over to the MP for further legal action, the spokesperson said, adding that the senior army officer also resigned from the army after the incident.

Police said the car involved in the accident was registered in the name of his father, the police said, adding that after the arrest of the driver, his father also reached the police station and made attempts to influence the police for the release of his son. However, after the MP and other departments of the army learnt about the incident, they arrived at the police station and took custody of the lieutenant.

Accident on Jinnah Avenue

At the time of the incident, the participants of the ‘Save Gaza’ protest were sleeping on a portion of Jinnah Avenue between Express Chowk and the old Parade Ground, the police had said. The streetlights of the area were also switched off when the incident had occurred. “At around 2:45am, a speeding car appeared on the road, ran over five participants and then crashed into a police barricade, hitting the inspector [on duty].”

The driver then sped away the car towards Ayub Chowk via Attaturk Avenue. Police deployed on special duty in connection with the protest alerted the control room. In response, a patrolling team intercepted the car and caught the driver and shifted him to the police station.

The police had said Mohammad Roman Sajid and an unidentified man, aged between 40 and 45 years, died on the spot while Mohammad Talha Ilyas, Hamad Hassan and Faisal Hayat along with Inspector Ijaz Ahmed were injured.

Two days after the incident, the district intelligence committee in a meeting on May 22 expressed reservations over the ‘Save Gaza’ protest near D-Chowk despite the enforcement of Section 144 in the city, which does not allow gatherings of any kind. At the time, the administration said that the meeting was held to review the overall security situation in the city as was attended by the police and administration officials.

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2024