KASUR: A small village of Kasur on Monday night became a scene of pitched battle between police and local residents following a botched attempt by officials to record statements of the two parties in a murder case.

On Tuesday, the Raja Jang police registered a case against 82 people, 20 of them unidentified, on the charges of attacking a police team and depriving them of valuables after holding them up without provocation.

It all started when SP Investigation Amjad Husain Qureshi led a police force to Orara village in connection with murder of Muhammad Amin, an incident that took place on Sept 8. Instead of judiciously taking up the case, police simultaneously sent for the two parties in the village mosque to record their statements. First they summoned some members of the accused party (inside the mosque) which annoyed the other group whose members stormed the mosque and complained about the police procedure.

Police sprang into action and baton-charged the group as a result of which Perveen Bibi and another woman were injured. The action made the situation worse as a number of villagers made a dash towards the mosque and attacked the police team with clubs and stones, tore their uniforms and decamped with documents. Some people held up police officials and damaged two official vehicles.

Case against 82 people who held up cops, damaged vans

The police called out more officials to control the mob and rescue those in the custody of the mob.

On Tuesday, the Raja Jang police registered a case against 82 people under sections 324, 353, 186, 427, 148 and 149 of Pakistan Penal Code and conducted raids to effect arrests. They claimed in the FIR that the mob attacked the official vans and held up the policemen when they summoned the two parties in a murder case for recording their statements.

According to some residents of the village, a tense calm prevailed in the area where the incident took place.

A somewhat similar incident took place a few years ago when a man was shot dead outside Sabzi Mandi Chowki of the B-Division police as the then SHO called two rival parties at the same venue. In an even earlier incident, eight people were killed at Mir Muhammad Sattoki village in Mustafabad when police summoned two rival parties at the same time at an outhouse for interrogation.

ELECTROCUTED: A Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) official was electrocuted while repairing high-tension wires near Kamal Chishti Morr on Tuesday.

Muhammad Mansha, a lineman at Niaz Nagar subdivision, was fixing fault near Kamal Chishti Morr after obtaining permit from the higher authorities. During work he came in contact with a live wire and died on the spot.

Police handed over the body to the family after legal formalities.

DEMO: Scores of officials of Lesco in Phoolnagar subdivision staged a protest demonstration near Malanwala bypass against what they said harsh attitude of the SDO on Tuesday.

Led by Javed Nasir, the officials demanded immediate transfer of SDO Muzammil Husain. They dispersed on the assurance of Executive Engineer Nauman Ali that their demand would be looked into.

Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2017