GUJRANWALA: Two armed men shot dead an executive engineer of the Gujranwala Electric Power Company (Gepco) close to the Gepco Headquarters on GT Road on Tuesday.

EXEN Mazhar Nawab, posted at Gepco’s Surveillance and Investigation Cell, had been actively pursuing cases of electricity theft.

The officer’s vehicle had just hit GT Road after coming out of his office when two masked motorcyclists opened fire on him as a result of which he died on the spot while head clerk Abu Bakar and Nadeem were injured. The injured were admitted to the DHQ hospital in a critical condition.

No sooner had the news of murder spread than Gepco employees, seething with rage and grief, came out on GT Road and blocked it. They chanted slogans against police and demanded immediate arrest of the culprits. Until then, they said, there would be a complete strike of Gepco employees throughout the region.

Outpouring of rage, grief on GT Road

Speaking at a rally, Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Workers Union General Secretary Khursheed Ahmad Khan and regional chairman Iqbal Dar and Gepco Engineers/Officers Association President Faisal Nafees condemned the killing of senior officer and announced that all employees of the company would go on strike.

Mazhar Nawab was an upright and a conscientious officer who had been going after those involved in electricity theft, said his colleagues who pointed finger at a “mafia” for eliminating him.

Gepco Chief Executive Officer Ghulam Muhammad and other senior officers, accompanied by SP Tahir Maqsood Cheena, stayed at the crime spot for a while and police assured the protesters that the culprits would be apprehended soon.

GAS OUTAGES: Loadshedding of gas has badly affected the routine life, forcing people to take to the street.

A number of people, mostly women, of various localities on Tuesday demonstrated and expressed their ire at the authorities. Holding stoves and utensils, they shouted slogans against the government and demanded restoration of gas supply.

SNGPL General Manager Tayyab Faisal said gas was being supplied to the city from 6am to 9am and 5pm to 8pm according to a schedule. And the complaint of low gas pressure was being addressed, he added.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2016