TIMERGARA, Dec 22: A group of angry protesters attacked the offices of Peshawar Electric Supply Company here on Saturday and injured an executive engineer over what they claimed heavy fines imposed on power subscribers and frequent loadshedding.
The official, Sardar Bahadar Khan, who sustained bruises on his face, was shifted to a hospital. The Balambat police have registered an FIR against the general secretary of Jamaat-i-Islami, Dir, Aizazul Mulk in this connection and started conducting raids for his arrest.
Witnesses said that around 30 protesters attacked the Pesco Executive Engineer offices, disconnected telephone lines and gave the official a severe thrashing.
People maintained that they had been facing frequent power failures due to the negligence of the Wapda authorities in the Timergara division. They said the authorities also imposed heavy fines on them to make up for line losses.
The JI leader, while talking to this correspondent from an unknown place, said that he reached the Pesco offices to prevent the mob from setting the office on fire.
He said this incident was bound to happen one day as the Wapda officials had made the life of power subscribers in the Lower Dir district miserable. He said even the district Nazim, Alamzeb Khan, had expressed his helplessness on complaints against Wapda, saying that it was a federal government department.
WAPDA's CLAIM: In a press release issued on Sunday, the Pesco stated that loadshedding was not instrumental in the attack on the XEN office in Timergara as no loadshedding was carried out anywhere in the Lower Dir district.
It said that a group of some 30 people came to the Pesco offices for correction in their bills and seeking remittance of the fines. They pressured the XEN to issue on the spot orders to remit the fines and correct their bills. The official told them to seek this through the proper channel, upon which they attacked the XEN and escaped.
Pesco Chief Executive Brig Tahir Saeed has ordered an inquiry into the incident, it added.
PESCO's CONCERN: The Wapda officials while showing their anguish over the incident said that it was much difficult for them to perform their duty in such hostile circumstances. They demanded action against the attackers.
