RAHIM YAR KHAN: Police allegedly impounded passenger buses on Tuesday with people still on board and parking them at Khawaja Fareed Government Postgraduate College. Police have denied the claim.

Several passengers protested on the road against police for forcibly taking them to the college where the buses they were travelling in were impounded. Some said they were travelling from Bahawalpur to Karachi when police intercepted their bus and took it to the college ground. Others said they were going to Multan with family when police diverted their bus to the college, leaving them stranded.

Regional Transport Authority (RTA) Secretary Riyasat Ali said that 1,500 buses would be required for election duty from July 21 to 26 in the district. He claimed he was negotiating with transporters in Sadiqabad to use their buses for elections. He also claimed that owners of all impounded buses will be compensated with daily allowance and fuel. He also claimed that police were only impounding the vehicles parked at various flour mills or other points by candidates to pick and drop voters on polling day, he added.

However, City Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Syed Jamshaid Shah denied police’s involvement in impounding of passenger buses.

He said that at a meeting held on Tuesday between the district and sessions judge with DSPs traffic, headquarters and city, Motor Vehicles Examiner Muhammad Shafiq Gujjar and the RTA secretary, police officials had refused to impound any vehicle.

To which, the DSP claimed, Gujjar said they would carry out the exercise themselves after which the buses were impounded from Bahadurpur Chowk on the national highway.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2018