LAHORE: The city police on Tuesday arrested seven persons for carrying a large cache of weapons outside the district and sessions court.

Lahore police spokesperson Arif Ali Rana said police recovered five rifles, five pistols and 700 bullets from the suspects identified as Shehroz, Imran, Ehsanullah, Bilal, Faisal, Riaz and another. He said the suspects were shifted to the Islampura police station for registration of a case against them. He added that an investigation was underway to ascertain why the armed men were present outside the court.

Commenting on the matter, Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Ghulam Mehmood Dogar congratulated the court security in-charge, Mubashir Awan, and his team for taking timely action and apprehending the suspects. He also announced action against the suspects and awards for the security team.

The CCPO said that the Kalashnikov culture will be ended in the metropolis and nobody will be allowed to go around displaying weapons. "The writ of the state must be enforced. Protecting the lives and livelihoods of citizens is the police's responsibility and we will fulfill it," he pledged.

It may be mentioned that last year witnessed several incidents of shootings inside courtrooms in Lahore and elsewhere.

In November, police arrested a gunman after he shot two brothers dead inside the 'Bakhshi Khana', a lockup for under-trial prisoners, of a sessions court in the metropolis. The arrested man claimed before police at the time that he had killed Riyasat Nazir and Bilal Nazir to avenge the murder of his mother.

Similarly, in August, a man facing a murder charge was gunned down outside a courtroom at a sessions court in Lahore allegedly by the complainant party.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021