MUZAFFARGARH: Police on Monday arrested PML-N MPA Rana Abdul Manan Sajid after cancellation of his bail by the Multan bench of the Lahore High Court in the Jatoi assistant commissioner violence case.

Sources said after the bail was cancelled, MPA Rana Abdul Manan voluntarily surrendered for investigation. Jatoi police later took him into custody and transferred him to Saddar police station for further investigation.

On May 19, Abdul Manan Sajid, along with a group of farmers, staged a protest outside the residence of Jatoi Assistant Commissioner (AC) Tariq Mahmood. They chanted slogans against the AC, accusing him of selling Passco’s bardana (gunny bags) to traders instead of distributing them among the farmers.

During the protest, some farmers allegedly entered AC’s residence and assaulted him.

Sajid alleged that the AC had deprived farmers of their rights by selling the bardana to middlemen. He claimed that the protest was peaceful and ended without incident. He denied any involvement in the violence and claimed that he was unaware of the events where some individuals entered the AC’s residence, attacked him and stole official files and other items.

The following day, Deputy Commissioner Mian Usman Ali, Dera Ghazi Khan Commissioner Dr Nasir Mahmood Bashir, along with RPO Sajjad Hassan and DPO Syed Hasnain Haider visited AC’s residence and decided to file a case against MPA Manan and his fellows under criminal charges.

A few weeks back, the PMS (Provincial Management Service) Association had issued a press release demanding the arrest of those involved in the assault on AC Jatoi tehsil. The AC later took medical leave and reported the incident to authorities in Lahore.

In the FIR, he alleged that a mob, led by the MPA attacked him, stole valuables, including government files, cash, a laptop and mobile phones and caused damage to his residence.

The police later added charges under the Anti-Terrorism Act (7 ATA) to the FIR and arrested four suspects. However, Manan Sjaid denied all allegations, saying that the protest was peaceful and none of his fellows entered AC Jatoi’s residence. He described the case as baseless.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2024