LOWER DIR: Elders of Daramdal village of Noorakhel on Monday demanded of the religious affairs ministry and the Auqaf department to take notice of encroachments on a centuries’ old graveyard.

Talking to journalists here, Abdul Mukhtiar, Badshah Munir, Haji Naushad and others alleged that some portions of their village graveyard had been occupied by a man who had shifted there from another village.

The elders pointed out that old graves had been uprooted by the grabber for levelling his land adjacent to the graveyard. They said a case had been registered against the accused in Talash police station, but the accused was trying to get bail before arrest.

The elders alleged that trees in the graveyard had also been cut ruthlessly, and demanded of the forest department to register a case against the man.

The residents demanded of the Auqaf department to construct a boundary wall around the graveyard.

FOUND DEAD: A youth identified as Aminullah, 23, a resident of Shawa Tindo Dak, was found dead in a peach orchard in Barorai area on Monday.

Residents said the victim was shot in the head, adding the reason behind the killing was not known.

The Chakdara police registered a case.

Meanwhile, the Rescue 1122 recovered the body of a 12-year-old boy identified as Mohammad of Malakand Payeen village from the Panjkora River.

According to a rescue official, the boy drowned while bathing three days ago, saying the body had been handed over to the family.

The official said six persons had drowned in the river during the last one and a half month, but bodies of only four could be recovered.

The district administration has imposed section 144 on bathing in the river.

Meanwhile, local residents on Monday complained that stray dogs had bitten as many as 15 people, including women and children, in Kandaro, Chargorai and Shatai Dara areas of Balambat during last few days.

They said the victims were taken to the district headquarters hospital, Timergara. They said the administration had been informed about the presence of stray dogs in those areas, but it did not move to eliminate them.

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2020