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RAWALPINDI, Feb 23 (APP):Basant was celebrated here on Thursday night and Friday in different city areas despite a ban, while police arrested 187 kite flyers and sellers and recovered over 7400 kites and around 300 kite flying string rolls from their possession.
According to a police spokesman, the police managed to arrest 81 kite flying ban violators on Thursday night and recovered over 4400 kites, 104 string rolls, sound system, weapons and other items.
He informed that 106 accused were sent behind the bars on Friday and police seized over 3000 kites and dozens of kite flying string rolls.
More than 600 accused were arrested and more than 61,000 kites and around 1200 string rolls were recovered during this season.
Rattaamral, Pirwadhai, R.A.Bazar, New Town, Sadiqabad, Airport, Westridge, Naseerabad, City and Waris Khan police conducted raids in their respective jurisdiction and netted kite flyers and sellers, he added.
The police had made it clear that kite flying was banned and strict action would be taken against the violators, but the enthusiasts celebrated the basant .
Basant festivity was seen in different areas, including Dhoke Khabba, Dhoke Chiraghdin, Jhanda Chichi, Tench Bhatta, People’s Colony, Misrial Road, Dhamial, Arya Mohallah, Chah Sultan, Ratta Amral, Pindora, Naya Mohalla, Railway colony, Pirwadhai, Satellite Town, Rattaamral, Pirwadhai, R.A.Bazar, New Town, Sadiqabad, Westridge, Naseerabad, Waris Khan, Committee Chowk and other areas ignoring police crackdown.
In several areas, particularly in congested localities, police faced great difficulty in arresting the kite flyers.
The police, on the directives of City Police Officer (CPO) Syed Khalid Mehmood Hamdani, continued a special crackdown against kite sellers and flyers on Friday.
The spokesman said all police stations had been directed to accelerate the ongoing operations against kite-flying ban violators while special teams under the supervision of senior police officers were also conducting raids in different areas.
Superintendent of Police, Rawal said that all available resources were being utilized to deal with kite flying.
He said Police under the supervision of Senior Superintendent of Police, Operation, were making efforts to control kite flying, aerial firing and violation of the ban.
The spokesman said the district police had devised a plan to foil plans to celebrate the banned festival of Basant.
More than 1500 police personnel had been deployed on large rooftops in densely populated areas to check kite flying on Thursday night and Friday, where they were equipped with binoculars as well as other resources to apprehend those violating the law by flying kites.
Drone cameras were also being used to track those involved in aerial firing, he said.
The police officials have reiterated time and again that flying kites is a potentially dangerous sport that can lead to the loss of life, and those found disregarding its cost to human lives will be prosecuted according to law.
The parents, teachers, scholars and civil society were also taken into confidence to play their role in preventing the celebration of Basant.
The police had also launched an awareness campaign about the hazards of the risky sport with the help of religious scholars, who were asked to make announcements on their respective mosques’ sound systems about the demerits of kite-flying.
The police had finalized arrangements for live monitoring of all densely populated areas, while all Station House Officers (SHOs) had been directed to ensure strict surveillance of kite sellers in their areas.
The police teams were trying to trace and arrest culprits involved in buying and selling killer strings and kites through social media, he said adding, monitoring of courier services and passenger vehicles coming from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa was also being tightened, so that any kites and chemical strings being brought to the city for Basant could be seized.
SSP Operations, Rawalpindi, Hafiz Kamran Asghar said that no one would be allowed to violate the ban and strict action in accordance with the law would be taken against kite flyers and sellers.
The police urged the citizens to ensure that their children do not violate the ban on kite flying imposed by the provincial government otherwise strict action would be taken against the violators.