KASUR, Sept 27: The B Division police have booked five lawyers for thrashing a Wapda SDO and detaining him in the barroom on Saturday. Later, the DPO and the DCO pacified the protesting Lesco officials.

Wapda's hydro and Paigham unions have announced suspending power supply to the area if the accused were not arrested within 24 hours.

SDO Habibullah Baloch was standing outside the court of Additional Sessions Judge Aqil Hussain Chohan when M Aslam Chaudhry advocate and his four colleagues started thrashing him. Later, the lawyers detained the SDO in their barroom. However, the SDO was released after some senior lawyers intervened.

Talking to Dawn, SDO Baloch said that electricity supply to Aslam's house in Sher-i-Rabbani Colony had been disconnected twice over detection bill. He said the advocate later started stealing electricity. The SDO said that the lawyer had also been threatening him of litigation.

When Lesco officials were preparing to launch a protest on Ferozepur Road, DPO Rao Abdul Kareem and DCO Abdul Jabbar Shaheen intervened and stopped them from staging a demonstration with a promise that they would be provided justice.

Advocate Aslam, however, denied electricity theft charges levelled by the SDO.

He said Lesco had issued him a detection bill worth Rs7,000 which he had paid. He said the SDO and his staff stormed his house allegedly to check internal electricity load distribution, but misbehaved with his family. —Correspondent