DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Unidentified armed men hijacked a private security firm’s van carrying cash amounting to Rs40 million and kidnapped the firm’s five guards near Hathala village on Tank Road on Thursday.

According to the police, the cash van of a private security agency was heading to Wana, South Waziristan.

As the van reached Hathala village on Tank Road, unidentified gunmen intercepted and hijacked the van. Later, the armed suspects looted the cash, set the vehicle on fire and released the security guards.

A case has been registered with Hathala police station while police recovered the burnt vehicle from the Kanori area. Police were also interrogating the released staffers of the security agency.

It is worth mentioning here that another bank van was also looted in the Kulachi area two weeks ago.

Meanwhile, the district administration on Thursday sealed six marble factories for not complying with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and parameters set by the Environmental Protection Agency, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Assistant Commissioner Headquarters Mohammad Faseeh Ishaq Abbasi conducted an operation against the marble factories in the city.

On the occasion, the assistant director of the environment protection department also accompanied the AC.

The raiding team visited six marble factories. All the factories were sealed for lack of proper arrangements and violation of SOPs.

Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2024