BAHAWALNAGAR: Police arrested two out of the six suspects who were booked on Tuesday in two separate incidents for attacking anti-polio teams, including two senior health officials and harassing female workers.

According to Minchinabad Deputy District Health Officer (DDHO) Dr Abdullah Khan, during the three-day anti-polio campaign in the district, a team faced resistance in Basti Mochipura of Fidai Shah union council by a local, Ghulam Hussain Cheena.

He said that on receiving the information, he along with Health CEO Dr Shahid Saleem rushed to the location and tried to convince Hussain to let the team do its job.

However, he said, Hussain hurled threats at the team and later attacked the workers forcing them to leave the area.

He said an FIR had been lodged with Minchinabad police against the suspect.

In the second incident, the DDHO said, a polio team in Basti Hussain Kot faced resistance from a local Naveed and four others who threatened the workers, stopped them from administering polio drops to children and misbehaved with the female team members. He said an FIR was registered against the suspects at the Mcleod Ganj police station.

Police said that two of the suspects nominated in the FIRs had been arrested.

According to police sources, in Dona Miana village in Mcleod Ganj, locals protested against a polio team and refused to get children vaccinated.

Later, police were called and after talks the locals were convinced to get their children vaccinated.

FAISALABAD: The D-Type Colony police on on Tuesday registered a case against a couple on charges of thrashing a polio workers team in Allama Iqbal Colony.

In an application submitted to the police, Asma Noreen, a sanitary patrol of union council 243, said she along with other polio workers knocked at the door of Faizan’s house for administering polio vaccine drops to the children.

She said the suspect and his wife opened the door and started misbehaving with the polio workers.

She said the couple thrashed the workers and also tore their clothes.

Ms Noreen said the polio workers had to take shelter in a nearby house to save themselves, but the suspects chased them and broke the house’s door. She added that area residents witnessed the entire episode.

The police booked the couple under sections 186, 354, 427 and 506-B of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), with no arrest.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2020