A post shared on Voice of Customer Pakistan, a social media-based consumer advocacy community, has drawn several reactions online after a Lahore resident alleged harassment and attempted extortion by whom he claimed were “two uniformed Punjab Police constables” while travelling with his pregnant wife.

According to the online post, the citizen pulled over to the extreme left of the road and turned on the vehicle’s hazard indicators after his wife started vomiting due to pregnancy-induced nausea in the Wahdat Road area of the provincial capital.

As he stepped out to assist his wife and clean the vehicle, he said, two police personnel approached them on a motorcycle. The citizen noted that the motorcycle did not have a registration plate and both individuals were missing their mandatory nameplates.

He claimed that the personnel ordered him out of the vehicle and made a phone call, stating, “Hum ne aik joray ko pkra hai fahashi krty howe, jaldi mobile bhejen [We just caught a couple committing indecency. Quickly send a police mobile].”

According to the man, he stepped out and asked for an explanation, but was told an FIR [First Information Report] would be lodged against them. He explained that his wife was unwell and showed the mess in the car, after which, he claimed, one of the personnel tried to open the rear door, saying, “Chalo ab thanay ja k baat hogi [Let’s go, no we’ll talk at the police station].”

He said he refused to move and asked for their name plates, prompting one of the cops to hurl abuses at him. He said the personnel also became “physically abusive”, before offering to let the couple go for Rs5,000.

The man went on to state that the cops fled the scene as soon as he dialed police helpline 15.

He said he was told that help would arrive soon, however, no one showed up for at least 40 minutes, forcing the couple to return home.

“Why higher Punjab Police authorities don’t teach professionalism to their minions,” he wrote, adding that “living peacefully in this country is merely a dream”.

The post triggered massive reactions online, with a number of people sharing similar experiences.

Content creator Hamna Ayub said something “exactly similar” happened to her husband and her, detailing an incident where a police bike came the wrong way to disrupt traffic, harass them and trying to snatch the phone during a 15 call.

“Same happened to us,” wrote another, sharing how a constable threatened that their car would be “taken to the police station” while their daughter slept in the back. The cop, the user said, only changed his tone once the family began filming.

Commenters actively tagged political profiles, with one stating, “@maryamnawazofficial i think this has gone way too far now YOU LITERALLY NEED TO TAKE SERIOUS ACTION AGAINST THESE HEINOUS ACTIVITIES OF PUNJAB POLICE [sic].”

Another user advised registering a formal complaint, noting, “This kind of incidents have been reported multiple times by citizens.”

Further reactions expressed absolute disillusionment with emergency services, with users writing, “15 is a joke just looting public money” and “15 is the most pathetic emergency service in the world”.

Others also spoke of similar incidents involving blackmail or extortion at the hands of people pretending to be police personnel.

An official reaction to the claims is awaited.