HYDERABAD: Six of the 17 people rounded up by the Cantonment police late Saturday evening after a violent protest in Peon Colony at Shahbaz Building were set free on Monday.

The protest was held by residents of the colony during a drive launched by the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) to cut off illegal connections and those of bill defaulters to make recoveries amounting to Rs14m.

The protest had turned violent as protesters attacked vehicles and police mobile vans smashing their windowpanes. Five policemen were injured in the disturbances and police had to lob teargas shells to disperse the agitators. The police finally resorted to heavy aerial firing to bring the situation under control. In the ensuing crackdown, 17 protesters were arrested.

Police had obtained their remand from a consumer protection court. In a late night development, six of them were let off. They were identified as Faiz, Asfand, Umar Soomro, Chetan Das, Mohammad Afzal and Suleman, the police confirmed.

SHO of the Cantonment police station Abdul Razzaq said that statements of witnesses proved that the freed suspects were neither residents of the colony nor were they involved in rioting. He said that they were released under Section 497 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.PC).

The SHO also confirmed that Sections 6-7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997 were being excluded from the FIR as directed by higher police officers. Such report would be submitted in the court concerned, he added. He said that Sections 353 and 324 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) would instead be inserted in the FIR registered against agitators on behalf of the state.

A separate FIR lodged by the Hesco SDO Saddar subdivision regarding power theft remained intact.

Earlier, Pakistan Peoples Party’s Sindh Information Secretary Aajiz Dhamra approached the party leadership and chief minister for the release of the protesting residents of Peon Colony, which falls within his constituency. He had visited the colony as well. On his efforts, directives were given to Hyderabad SSP Dr Farrukh Ali for the release of the six suspects and exclusion of the ATA sections from the FIR.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2024