September 24, 2008	Wednesday	Ramazan 23, 1429

MIANWALI, Sept 23: A mob on Tuesday destroyed a truck after looting the 300 flour bags loaded on it, damaged a police van and kept a main road blocked for several hours to protest shortage of the essential commodity near Tola Bangi Khel village, some 50 kilometers from here.

Reports said the truck carrying subsidised flour for Tola Bangi Khel village located in kalabagh hills crossed Jinnah Barrage at about 7am but instead of delivering the commodity to the waiting people there moved on towards Shakar Dara (the NWFP).

As the truck was about to cross the provincial border, it was stopped by hundreds of local people who had gathered there. The mob then looted the flour bags loaded on the truck and then smashed its windshield.

The enraged people also damaged a van of Tola Bangi Khel police station and pelted policemen and district administration officials reaching there with stones. Two constables and a food department official were injured in the incident and were admitted to Kalabagh THQ Hospital.

The mob kept the highway blocked for eight hours to protest flour shortage. The protestors raised slogans against local nazim and MPA Abdul Hafeez Khan, calling them ‘flour smugglers’.

Isakhel DSP claimed the situation was under control and normalcy had returned.

PO KILLED: Police claimed to have killed a proclaimed offender in an alleged encounter while his three accomplices managed to escape late on Monday near Zalla, some six kilometer from here on Manwali-Lahore road.

Reports said four outlaws blocked the road and started looting a truck (TKV 214) when a car driver informed Saddar police station patrolling party about the robbery.

As the police party comprising SHO, two constables and a driver reached the spot, the outlaws allegedly opened fire on their van. The police retaliated the fire, killing one of the outlaws identified as Suba Khan of Nikokhelanwala on the spot, while his three accomplices managed to escape leaving behind a Kalashnikov, a 303 rifle with bullets and Rs5,000 snatched from the truck driver.

Police claimed the dead outlaw was a notorious proclaimed offender involved in 23 incidents of heinous crime like dacoity, attempted murder, arms and drug trafficking and robberies.

DPO Malik Tasaddaq Hayat awarded cash to the police concerned.