GUJRAT: PML-Q leader Chaudhry Musa Elahi, a son of Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain, on Thursday got the bail before arrest from an anti-terrorism court (ATC) of Gujranwala after he was booked under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).

The Kakrali Police Station registered a cross version in an already registered case of the clash between the PML-N and PML-Q workers at Kotla Civil Hospital on Jan 16.

Earlier, police had booked at least 234 people belonging to various factions of the Kotla group.

The incident had occurred on the inauguration of upgrade and renaming of Kotla Civil Hospital as the Zahoor Elahi Shaheed Tehsil Headquarters Hospital. The violent protesters had pelted the PML-Q leader with stones to offer resistance against the inauguration. The security guards of Musa had allegedly opened fire at the protesters.

Ex-PML N MPA Shabbir Kotla had lodged a complaint with the Kakrali police to book Musa and at least 30 others for resorting to firing but police did not register the case on his report and the case was lodged on the report of Kakrali Station House Officer Tanveer Abbas Bhatti.

Now police registered a cross-version of Shabbir Kotla in the same case and booked Musa Elahi and 30 others under sections of the ATA.

Mr Elahi on Thursday appeared before the Gujranwala ATC and applied for the bail before arrest. The court granted him pre-arrest bail until Feb 2.

At least 30 people of the Kotla group are on interim bail in that case.

Earlier, on Wednesday, Ghalib Market Police Station of Lahore also had booked Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain and Musa Elahi in another case under different sections. Muhammad Bilal, the complainant in the case, was a resident of Kotla town of Gujrat district and had also been a personal secretary of MNA Abid Raza Kotla.

Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2023