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GUJRANWALA, May 31: Some 200 people, including Mutahida Majlis Amal’s MNA Qazi Hamidullah, Gujranwala MMA information secretary Babar Rizwan and Abdul Malik Shah, have been booked by the Sabzi Mandi police under the Anti-Terrorism Act on charges of setting fire to a circus paraphernalia on the GT Road as part of an anti-obscenity campaign.
MMA’s Qazi Hamid and some other religious leaders had set a deadline for the district administration and police to purge the city of obscenity, sources said. The circus was allegedly set on fire after expiry of the deadline.
Religious activists were said to have announced that they would continue their campaign against obscenity if the district administration and police did not take action against organizers of vulgar programme.
Meanwhile, a judicial magistrate raided a theatre in the company of policemen and arrested the man in charge of the theatre, a drama producer and two scantily-dressed dancing women here on Saturday, acting on the report of a citizen. The Sabzi Mandi police have registered a case against the accused.
Most of the local theatres have suspended their programmes for fear of religious parties.
BUTCHERS PENALIZED: A special judicial magistrate on Saturday raided four slaughter houses and awarded imprisonment and fines to the butchers for not paying taxes.
Municipal magistrate Muhammad Zaman Khan awarded two-month imprisonment and Rs4,000 fine to Muhammad Riaz, who runs a shop at Tajpura, and one-month imprisonment and Rs4,000 fine to Muhammad Ijaz of the College Road.
Iftikhar Ahmad and Muhammad Bashir, who are running their shops on the Circular Road and College Road, respectively, have been fine Rs5,000 each.
The raiders said these butchers had been selling stale meat at their abattoirs.
ACCIDENT: A money changer was crushed to death on the GT Road here on Saturday.
Naeem was crossing a road when a Lahore-bound luxury bus crushed him. He died on the spot.
