NAROWAL: Armed men on Thursday tortured a woman polio worker who ended up at the Tehsil Headquarters (THQ) Hospital of Shakargarh.

Zahida Sultana, a polio worker employed by the Narowal health department, was vaccinating children against polio at Nadala Silharian village near Shakargarh when four masked men appeared on two motorcycles and inquired about the polio teams working in the area.

Sultana said she took the assailants for officials monitoring the polio teams when they sought information about them and offered them tea at a nearby place but they abused her and roughed her up.

She said she also offered them Rs6,000 she had in her handbag. She said the armed men hit her with the butt of gun after which she lost consciousness.

The lady health worker said the masked men did not snatch her bag or mobile phone. Some passersby, she said, shifted her to the Shakargarh THQ hospital where she was given first-aid.

Later, officials of the district administration, police and health departments visited the hospital on getting information about violence against the polio worker.

The incident also created panic in the area where many people condemned it and demanded action against the perpetrators. They demanded that Chief Minister Usman Buzdar take notice of the violence incident.

Arsalan Ali and Naveed Aslam blamed the officials for indifference and leaving the workers administering polio vaccination to children at the mercy of hooligans.

Former District Council chairman Ahmad Iqbal Chaudhry also expressed concern over the police failure to ensure protection of the polio vaccination staff.

District Health Authority Chief Executive Officer Hafiz Mohammad Khalid said a case had been registered by the Shah Gharib police against the assailants and an inquiry ordered.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2021