SAHIWAL: Tensions between the municipal committee (MC) Arifwala, tehsil administration, and shop owners over the auction of 1,212 shops at new rates escalated when a cycle mechanic shop owner died of heart attack on Friday morning.

The officials from the MC and tehsil administration were serving call deposit records (CDRs) to shop owners, asking them to deposit amounts to be legally eligible to participate in the shop auctions going to be held in Pakpattan when the incident happened.

Reports said that the MC staff, under the leadership of Zulqarnain Hyder and AC Mir Rumman, were distributing the CDRs and convincing the shopkeepers and shop owners of Jinnah Chowk to deposit CDRs for the new auction scheduled to take place on Feb 17-19. There are around 70-80 shops around Jinnah Chowk.

During a heated discussion, many shop owners and local traders gathered around the AC. Suddenly, a voice shouted that a cycle mechanic, named Shaikh Umair, who had a shop in Jinnah Chowk, collapsed. He had chest pain. He was shifted to the tehsil headquarters hospital for treatment where he expired. Hospital sources said Umair had died of a cardiac arrest but he had diabetes also.

On hearing the news of Umair’s death, traders gathered at the THQ and started chanting slogans against the AC and MC staff, leading to a tense situation. City Police called in the Elite Force to the venue. DPO Javed Iqbal also rushed to the scene and spoke to the protesters, assuring them that necessary legal action would be taken according to the law. He said the initial investigation revealed no signs of torture or injury on the deceased’s body.

In response to the death, the traders held a protest by placing the deceased’s body in the middle of the road and blocking the traffic. They blamed the assistant commissioner and MC staff for the cycle mechanic’s death. They claimed that the continuous pressure during the ongoing anti-encroachment drive led to the heart attack of the deceased.

The protesters demanded registration of a criminal case against the municipal officer revenue and tehsil administration.

Arifwala Assistant Commissioner Mir Rumman Khalil refuted the traders’ accusations, saying that no coercive action was being taken and negotiations were running between the traders and his team.

Eyewitnesses said the MC staff and he himself were convincing and mobilising the traders to receive their CDRs and participate in the auction to be held under the new revised schedule.

In the evening, City police of Arifwala booked three MC employees, Zulqarnain Chishti, the municipal officer regulation, Muhammad Nadeem, and two unidentified individuals based on a complaint filed by the deceased’s brother, Imran, a resident of Faridia Colony.

On the other hand, Muhammad Hussain Hussani, president of Markazi Anjuman Tajiran, announced a strike for Saturday over the death.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2025