Lahore: Obsolete police weapons aided escape of terrorists

[Naveed Yaseen]

* Injured Elite Force official complains of rifle malfunction

By Rana Tanveer

LAHORE: Terrorists behind the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team at Liberty Roundabout managed to flee due to the outdated weapons and ammunition of the police, Daily Times learnt on Monday.

Sources in the Police Department, on condition of anonymity, said an Elite Force official, who was injured in the shootout, filed a complaint with Qurban Lines Police about his rifle. He said the official claimed that he fired five shots at one of the terrorists but his rifle malfunctioned and he was consequently injured. Sources said 20 police officials escorting the team could only fire 13 bullets in the entire shootout.

Obsolete weaponry: It was reported that one of the cops failed to fire because his rifle’s twin magazines were riddled with a bullet that had been fired by an assailant. They said the bullet damaged the rifle’s magazine, after which bullets could not reach the chamber of the rifle.

When officials at the Police Ammunition Store were questioned about faulty bullets, they said the store did not keep any faulty ammunition and the problem arose when cops purchased bullets from a store on their own after losing some during duty. He said it was mandatory for police officials to replace the lost bullets on their own. It was learnt that the Sri Lankan team’s route had not been a puzzle for the terrorists, as the police had recovered wireless devices after the attack, which were fixed on Channel 23 of Mujahid Wireless. Reportedly, the terrorists could listen to the information being shared between the Elite Force and the Mujahid Force.

Mujahid Force Superintendent of Police (SP) Babar Bakhat Qureshi denied having any information about faulty weapons or ammunition. He said there was no possibility of substandard weapons, as the force could not afford to have obsolete weapons. He said no police personnel had ever complained of faulty weapons. He said forces deputed for VVIP security were never given expired or obsolete ammunition.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...009_pg13_1