KARACHI: A protest demonstration against robberies and police inefficiency in Orangi Town turned violent on Sunday as protesters threw stones at police who resorted to baton-charge and fired into the air to disperse the crowd.

Five persons were hurt, while several people were taken into custody in subsequent police raids on nearby houses in Orangi Town’s Islam Chowk area.

SSP-West Nasir Aftab justified the police action saying the protesters first fired at a police van in the troubled area. As the protesters lit bonfires on the road, a contingent of police and the Rangers reached the scene and tried to reopen the road, but the protesters hurled stones at the law enforcers smashing the windscreen of some police vans. The police fired into the air and lobbed teargas shells to disperse the mob and picked up some fleeing protesters.

The SSP-West said the police reacted when the vehicle of a DSP was hit by bullets allegedly fired by the people among the protesters. He saw some political conspiracy behind the protest, but did not elaborate.

Meanwhile, Police Surgeon Dr Aijaz Khokhar told Dawn that five persons who sustained bullet wounds were brought to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. Area people said some of those arrested were students who had nothing to do with the protest.

Earlier, the Sindh government had imposed a ban on rallies, social or religious programmes in some parts of the city for 15 days in view of threat alerts.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2017