May 5, 2006	Friday	Rabi-us-Sani 6, 1427

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LAHORE, May 4: At least 16 rickshaw drivers and four policemen suffered injuries in a clash that led the latter to use teargas and batoncharge as a last resort at Mozang on Thursday.

The police said around 500 rickshaw drivers had gathered at Abid Market to protest against the ban on their entry on The Mall.

The rickshaw drivers had started blocking the traffic on the Ferozepur and its link roads early in the morning, resulting in mess in many parts of the city, including The Mall. Motorists faced long delays in reaching their destinations, which also led to scuffles.

The police, together with the City District Government Lahore officials, tried to convince the rickshaw drivers who, however, kept insisting on marching up to The Mall.

Some of the drivers suffered injuries when a passer-by had opened fire on them after an argument. According to reports, Nasir Butt along with his sister was on way home by a rickshaw when the protesters stopped them. He requested them to let them go but one of the protesters misbehaved with his sister.

Mr Butt left the spot and returned after some 15 minutes and opened fire on the protesters, leaving many of them injured.

The protesters got infuriated, though the police bundled Butt in a van. They demanded that the police should hand over Mr Butt to them and, on refusal, started pelting the officials with stones.

The police said they still tried their best to placate the mob which, however, continued to hurl stones and bricks and injured four of the policemen. The police retaliated with teargas shelling and batoncharge, leaving 10 protesters hurt.

Additional IG Khwaja Khalid Farooq, who is the city police chief, said at least 85 drivers were taken into custody and around 100 rickshaws impounded. He said the process of instituting cases under the anti-terrorism law was under way.