Bykea rider shot by Dolphin Force after being mistaken for suspect in Rawalpindi

A Bykea rider sustained bullet wounds after Dolphin Force personnel opened fire on him, mistaking him for an accomplice of a suspect he had unknowingly dropped off moments earlier on Farooq-i-Azam Road in Rawalpindi.

The rider, identified as Alayan Masih, recounted the incident in a video statement recorded with Sadiqabad police. He told the police that he had picked up a passenger from Kuri Road and dropped him at Farooq-i-Azam Road, when a police party arrived at the scene. The passenger, later identified as a wanted suspect, opened fire on the officers upon seeing them, with bullets striking the door of the police van.

The Dolphin Force personnel returned fire nine rounds in total directing them at Alayan, whom they presumed to be the suspect’s accomplice.

“I was not carrying any weapon. I was a Bykea rider,” Alayan remarked in his statement. He added that the personnel fired at him from roughly four metres away and only approached him after he had already been hit. When they reached him, he told them he had no connection to the suspect.

Alayan suffered bullet wounds to his legs and thigh and was shifted to Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) after police reinforcements arrived at the scene.

Following the incident, City Police Officer (CPO) Rawalpindi ordered an inquiry and directed DSP City Division Azhar Hussain Shah to submit a report. Four Dolphin Force personnel involved in the firing were suspended and charged.

The suspect who fled the scene has been identified as Arslan. Sadiqabad police registered a case against him and two others on charges of attempted kidnapping, on the complaint of a woman who claimed Arslan attempted to abduct her daughter as they were leaving their home on Chand Raat. The woman noted in the FIR [First Information Report] that when she and her daughter raised the alarm, a police party arrived, prompting Arslan to release the girl and open fire before escaping. A man on a motorcycle, later identified as Alayan, was struck during the firing.

According to police sources, Arslan’s brothers later arrived at the police station with a lawyer to register an FIR, but were informed that a kidnapping case had already been filed against him.

Provincial Minister Ramesh Singh Arora took notice of the incident. An Assistant Commissioner (AC) Rawalpindi also visited BBH to check on Alayan’s condition and directed the hospital to ensure he receives full medical care.