MULTAN, Dec 28: Traders of a wholesale cloth market protested on Tuesday against alleged excesses of the Flying Squad of the local police.
Scores of traders came out on roads in the area near octroi Post No. 14 to raise their voice against the highhandedness of the Flying Squad officials.
The protest was the result of a row between two traders and a three-member police squad. It is learnt that traders Javed and Habib were carrying bundles of un stitched cloth by a pick-up when the police officials, identified as Shafi, Saifullah and Muhammad Tahir, stopped them and allegedly demanded bribe after accusing the traders of transporting smuggled clothes.
The traders said the officials started beating them when they tried to convince them that they had not done anything wrong for which they (officials) were demanding the back hander.
According to eyewitnesses, when traders of the area tried to rescue Javed and Habib, the officials misbehaved and warned them to stay away of the matter. After that the traders overpowered the squad officials and locked them in a shop.
Later, they staged the protest and demanded removal of the three officials from service. Haram Gate DSP Habib Khan, later, negotiated with the traders and secured release of the officials only after announcing their suspension on behalf of the district police officer.
When contacted, the DSP told Dawn that the preliminary investigation suggested that the Flying Squad officials were at fault. He said the DSP (Saddar) would investigate the matter thoroughly.
BURIAL: Prof Dr Hayat Zafar, the president of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard in Sultan Mahmood village of Kabirwala tehsil on Tuesday evening. He died at the age of 78.
He suffered a heart stroke on Monday afternoon and was admitted to the Nishter Hospital and Medical College cardiology ward where he breathed his last. His funeral prayers were offered at the NH&MC ground and later his body was taken to his ancestral village for burial. People from all walks of life attended his last rites.
Dr Hayat led an illustrious career in the medical field. Besides holding the PMDC's top office for the last five years, he had been the principal of the NH&MC from 1975 to 1989.
Later, he also remained the chairman of the hospital's board of governors for two years. He was the first vice-chancellor of the recently established University of Health Sciences, Lahore. He is survived by a wife, two sons and five daughters.
