Four booked after threatening polio team in Rawalpindi

RAWALPINDI: Police have registered a case against four people on allegations of threatening a polio vaccination team after the team faced resistance from a family in the Sadiqabad area on Wednesday. No arrests had been made so far.

The first information report was lodged at Sadiqabad police station by health inspector Rana Faraz. In the complaint, he said he was accompanying a polio vaccination team in Muslim Town on Wednesday to administer polio drops to children during the ongoing campaign.

According to the FIR, the team sought permission from the residents of a house before giving polio drops to children there. The complainant said that when the team entered the house, Gul Hassan, Mohammad Gul and two other individuals allegedly misbehaved with the workers, resisted the vaccination process and began recording videos of the female staff members.

Rana Faraz further stated in the complaint that the suspects used abusive language against the vaccination team and refused to allow the administration of polio drops to the children. He also alleged that the residents threatened the team with dire consequences and caused panic among people living in the area.

The complainant said the conduct of the accused had created concern about the possible spread of poliovirus in the locality.

Security arrangements for campaign

More than 900 police personnel had been deployed to provide security to polio teams during the three-day anti-polio campaign that began on Monday.

Police sources said a special security plan had been prepared for the protection of vaccination teams. Under that plan, 688 police teams drawn from 30 police stations were assigned security duties alongside polio workers.

Authorities have also set up 352 transit points and 231 fixed centres under National Immunization Day (NID), according to police.

The case comes amid continued efforts by authorities to carry out the anti-polio drive in Rawalpindi with police protection in place for field teams working across the district.