LAHORE, March 20: Traders kept the Gulberg’s Main Boulevard blocked for several hours on Friday evening after a Liberty Market’s influential businessman and his gunmen first caused a bomb scare at the Hafeez Centre and then thrashed a trader and his sons over a monetary issue.

Though police claimed at night the arrest of the accused and his two accomplices, Hafeez Centre traders alleged that police remained a silent spectator when the assailants carried out the ‘operation’ at around 5pm.

Traffic on the Main Boulevard was suspended following Haji Abdul Mannan, a former president of the Liberty Market Traders Association, and his armed men reached there and spread a bomb scare.

According to Iqbal Shah, a trader and witness, the bomb hoax panicked Hafeez Centre and Pace traders who came out on the boulevard after closing their shops. He said the assailants did so to ensure that no body came to the rescue of their prey, Haji Abdul Aziz, and his three sons, with whom Mannan had some monetary dispute.

Another trader, a neighbour of Haji Aziz in Hafeez Centre, said the dispute was petty in nature – with Aziz and sons demanding Rs1,500 as the computer repair cost, while Ali, a son of Haji Mannan, insisted on paying Rs500. When Aziz turned Ali away without handing him over the computer, Haji Mannan took it as insult.

Witnesses said Haji Mannan and his seven armed men ransacked Aziz’s shop, besides giving him and his sons a sound thrashing.

“Haji Mannan and his men started thrashing Aziz and his sons (Baber, Umer Adnan and Muhammad Ali) and smashed glass show-cases,” said a trader.

He claimed that one of the guards of Mr Mannan loaded his gun, pointed it at Aziz but stopped short of pressing the trigger.

When the head of the Hafeez Centre union tried to intervene, the assailants slapped him also.

Another witness, Khalid Mahmood, said the attackers hurled abuses and issued warnings to all those who tried to intervene.

He further said the Gulberg station house officer and his subordinates, who had reached the spot after some time, saw the whole episode as silent spectators.

Hafeez Centre’s Qaumi Tajir Ittehad general secretary Sheikh Farooq told Dawn that the attackers also took away Rs1million and several cell phones from the shop.

Mr Farooq said the Gulberg police, after reaching the spot on Rescue 15 call, did not dare arrest the attackers. The Gulberg SHO, however, rejected the charge.

Traffic on Gulberg Main Boulevard and adjacent arteries remained suspended for about two hours – during the attack and subsequent traders’ protest.