ATTOCK: Five cops were injured after lightning struck a police station in the Hazro tehsil of Punjab’s Attock district late Monday night, an official said on Tuesday.
Attock District Police Officer (DPO) Dr Sardar Ghias Gul Khan confirmed the incident and the injuries to media. He said four wounded personnel were discharged after first aid while one policeman was referred to the Holy Family Hospital in Rawalpindi.
The injured officers were identified as Assistant Sub-Inspector Imtiaz, Wireless Operator Bilawal Siddiqui, Constable Sajjad, Constable Faizan and Constable Tauqeer. DPO Khan said lightning struck the malkhana — the storehouse for case property — of the police station. A fire also erupted inside the building later. The official added that the extent of damage was being ascertained.
In response to a question regarding the possibility of sabotage, DPO Khan ruled out the possibility and said the cause of the fire was yet to be determined.
“An inquiry has been initiated to find out if the fire erupted due to a short circuit or explosion in the weapons depot,” he added.
Heavy rains lashed several areas of the country yesterday, including Rawalpindi — which is at an hour’s drive from Attock — and Islamabad, raising the water level in Leh Nullah to 10 feet and flooding low-lying areas.
Meanwhile, the Met Office has forecast rain-wind/thundershower at isolated places in upper and central Punjab, Potohar region, Islamabad, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir during the next 24 hours. –Agencies
