RAHIM YAR KHAN: On Monday, the Punjab police began looking into claims that an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) in Sadiqabad had mistreated and tortured three foreign cyclists, one of whom was a woman, and who came from Italy, England, and Iran.
The event happened on Saturday when the foreign visitors arrived in Sadiqabad. They were Motahira from Iran, Charlie West from the United Kingdom, and Alex Sidney from Italy. They were cycling from Sindh to Punjab.
On social media, brief videos of a police officer smacking a female cyclist are going viral.
In one of the videos, the woman tourist is shown being reprimanded by the police officer—later identified as ASI Liaqat—and told to get up.
When she declined to do that, the policeman became irate. She states:
“Please let me sit here.” The sound of slaps could be heard as the policeman suddenly grabbed the camera away from her.
The male rider can be heard shouting, “I want my camera back,” in another video. This is an unjustified attack. I’m going to be phoning my embassy in Italy.
“I want to know why he grabbed his hair,” the athlete exclaimed. These individuals were all witnesses to it. He took hold of his hair. It is not beneficial to you.
A Punjab police official responded to the event by stating that an investigation has been opened into ASI Liaqat and that he would face consequences if the investigation finds him to be guilty.
The riders were given protection when entering Rahim Yar Khan in accordance with SOP, he continued.
The cops stated that the incident occurred following a furious dispute over their refusal to comply with security.
The statement said that “the ASI slapped the foreign cyclist when they sprayed on him.”
According to the police officer, two of the three riders were still lodged at a posh hotel in Sadiqabad, while the third had departed the nation.
