July 31, 2002	Wednesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 20,1423

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FAISALABAD, July 30: The attack on the chief warder of the District Jail by unidentified men has created concern among the jail staff and some of them have hired the services of private guards to protect their lives and properties.

A jail official, seeking anonymity, told this scribe here on Tuesday that Chief Warder Fayyaz Ahmad was enjoying good reputation in the department.

He said relatives or accomplices of ‘influential’ jail inmates might be behind the attack on Mr Ahmad. Influential people lodged in jails wanted to establish their ‘hegemony’ in prisons, too. But, Mr Ahmad was an upright man and never succumbed to pressures even from ‘high-ups’, he added.

Meanwhile, jail sources did not rule out involvement of some jail employees in the incident.

Mr Ahmad, in the meantime, is still in the Rehmat Ward of the Divisional Headquarters Hospital. Hospital sources said both Mr Ahmad and his brother Gulzar, still required intensive care.

Batala Colony police have failed to arrest accused.

The investigation officer, when contacted, said two men of Gurunanakpura locality have been arrested on suspicion. He claimed that real culprits involved in this incident would be arrested soon.

PROTEST: Motorcycle rickshaw drivers staged a demonstration in front of the Tehsil Municipal Administration against overcharging by the contractor and his hired men.

They also blocked traffic by parking their vehicles on road. They claimed the TMA contractor was charging Rs10 from them for each trip of a route instead of prescribed Rs1.

They staged a sit-in in front of the offices of tehsil Nazim and demanded immediate action against the contractor.

They dispersed peacefully when a senior TMA officer assured them that action would be taken against the contractor if he was found involved in overcharging.