MUZAFFARABAD, Oct 1: Over 70 Patwaris staged a demonstration here on Saturday and threatened to go on indefinite strike from Monday in protest against the dismissal of their two colleagues by the deputy commissioner Muzaffarabad.

The demonstrators, serving in Muzaffarabad district, came to the local press club where their representatives told journalists that they would not take part in the preparation of voter lists due to begin from Monday if the government did not reinstate their colleagues.

They were referring to Girdawar Dilpazir Abbasi and Patwari Mir Gulfaraz who were dismissed and sent on forced retirement, respectively, by the DC two days ago under the Removal from Service (Special Powers) Act for their ‘proven’ involvement in fake allotment and transfer of crown’s land in Azad Jammu Kashmir.

The demonstrators said they had also decided to tender en mass resignations as a protest against the ‘black law’ which, according to them, did not provide any opportunity to the aggrieved party to clarify its position.

When contacted, DC Muzaffarabad Chaudhry Liaqat Hussain said: “If they want to tender resignations, they are welcome.

There are hundreds of jobless educated people who can replace them.”

He said if any one had any objection to his decision, he could appeal against it before the competent forum, but threats to go on strike could not be tolerated.

He added the Election Commissioner would take action against those who would defy its orders on the preparation/upgradation of voter lists.

He said Abbasi and Gulfaraz were arrested in December last in the wake of a theft of record from the office of custodian evacuee property and it had been proved that they were involved in preparation of fake allotment papers or tampering with old allotment papers for monetary benefits.

A special investigation team had seized hundreds of tampered or blank allotment papers and fake army no objection certificates from the private office of one of the accused in a raid, he said.