RAWALPINDI: More than 120 people on Friday staged a protest against the Pirwahai Police at Chungi No 4 for not arresting those accused of ‘torturing’ a woman for not vacating the house she was renting.

The protestors gathered at Octroi No 4 Square near the Pirwadhai Bridge over the Leh Nullah and blocked the road to traffic for two hours, all the while chanting slogans against the police and demanded action against the accused.

According to the police, 26-year-old Samina Bibi had lodged a complaint at the Pirwadhai Police Station on July 13 saying she had rented a house in Mohala Quaidabad and that her landlords- Shoaib, Shahzeb and three women- had fought with her over not paying rent and had tortured her.

The police had summoned the accused and encouraged them to negotiate and settle the issue though no agreement was reached at. After this, Station House Officer Chaudhry (SHO) Riaz locked both parties up.

The landlords and the tenant were given bail, the police said, and that a fight broke out between them again when the owner of the house asked Samina to vacate the house.

The owners are said to have then beaten Samina, who registered another complaint with the police.The accused had obtained pre-arrest bail, the police said, and that they cooperated with the investigation.

Samina Bibi and other locals then staged a protest on Friday against the police for not arresting the accused. They demanded for the city police officer to suspend the SHO, whom they said had taken the landlords’ side.

A police team headed by Deputy Superintended of Police (DSP) Babar Mumtaz reached the scene and managed to negotiate with the protestors.

The DSP assured them the accused will be arrested once the court cancels their bails.

When asked, SHO Riaz said the police had registered a case against the owner of the house on the complaint of Samina Bibi and than the accused had obtained pre-arrest bails on July 26.

“Though she knew of the facts, Samina was pressuring the police to arrest them, which is illegal,” he said.

He added that Samina’s neighbour Sarwar had had a fight with Shoaib and Shahzeb and had encouraged her to protest against the police.

“The police have done justice by [Samina]’, he said.

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2016