MULTAN, Dec 11: Local courts on Saturday ordered release on bail of about 50 stage artistes arrested on Friday night on the charge of obscenity.

The crackdown on the six city theatres was carried out jointly by the teams of district administration and police reportedly on receiving complaints of vulgarity in stage dramas.

The raiding teams were led by Multan Arts Council resident director Muhammad Ali Wasti and local government assistant director Malik Khizer Iqbal.

Surprisingly, the EDO (community development) had not been included in the raiding teams. Although the authority to monitor stage dramas in a district rest with the DCO office on behalf of the home department, the DCO usually delegates his powers in this regard to the EDO (CD).

A source in the district administration said that assigning no role to the EDO concerned evidently showed mistrust of the competent authority over his ability to curb the menace of vulgarity in stage plays.

The theatres raided on Friday night were Khayam, Starlit, Jehanzeb, Meraj, Baber and Dawn. Most of the arrested artistes were female while some writers and directors were also rounded up during the raids. Some children had to stay in the lock-ups along with their artiste mothers.

The police had registered cases under section 294 PPC against all the cast and crew of the theatres. All those artistes had to secure pre-arrest bails on Saturday who had managed to run away during the raids.

However, film actress Hina Shaheen has yet to apply for bail. She was performing in the play 'Punjab de hur' being staged at Baber theatre.

The artistes who secured pre and after arrest bails are Muhammad Naeem, Aslam Shad, H Iqbal, Zawar Hussain Baloch, Yusaf Kamran and Muhammad Usman (directors), Anila Ali, Nadia Chaudhry, Aalia Khan, Alisha, Abid Charlie, Bushy Khan, Ali Moon, Khalid Suhail, Sheikh Tahir Ali, Imtiaz Chaudhry, Sitara Soomro, Shehnaz Bhatti, Shazia, Nadia, Anita Malik, Nadeem Nanha, Abid Hussain, Waheed Dogar, Iftikhar Chaudhry, Nadeem Rashid, Ikram, Maria Muskurahat, Janam, Meena Khan, Shahida Neelam, Neha Ali, Shakeel Chan, Sher Muhammad Khan, Ijaz Ahmad, Najam Highlight, Rana Nafees, Anjuman Shehzadi, Nusrat Aftab, Mahnoor, Tara Sheikh, Rabia, Hunza, Tahira, Laila Multani, Shabana Haroon, Sonia Malik, Aliza, Ali Rizwan, Agha Nasir, Kiran Niazi, Naina and Javeria Malik.

Meanwhile, DCO Muhammad Ijaz Chaudhry has cancelled the no objection certificates issued to the drama producers.