KASUR: An elderly man died while two Lesco officials suffered injuries as the village Niaz Baig Kalan turned into a battlefield during an anti-power theft raid in the village in the limits of Sarai Mughal Police Station on Saturday.

Amin Langa, 60, died on the spot due to a head injury. The death sparked a protest by the residents of the village and they blocked Halla Road by keeping Amin’s body on it. Chanting slogans against Lesco and police, they demanded registration of a case against officials of the power distribution company.

On the assurance of local administration that a case would be lodged against Lesco officials, the protesters opened the road for traffic after about four hours.

Sarai Mughal police had earlier booked 100 villagers, 35 of them nominated, for attacking a Lesco team that was accompanied by Rangers, Elite Force and police during an anti-theft campaign. The villagers allegedly tortured the Lesco officials, injured them, kept them in illegal confinement, snatched cash and mobile phones from them and ransacked the official vehicles with clubs and bricks.

Death sparks protest by villagers; 185 booked for attacking officials during action against power thieves in two villages

Police, on the complaint of Lesco SDO Zulifqar Ali, lodged a case under sections of the ATA and PPC against 35 nominated and 65 unidentified villagers.

According to the first information report (FIR), when the Lesco team, accompanied by the Rangers, Elite Force and police, raided the village, it started removing direct connections with low tension (LT) transmission wires. While the team was severing ‘direct’ power supply from the house of one Muhammad Arshad, he flared up, called other villagers and instigated them to attack the Lesco team. The villagers wielding clubs, stones and bricks attacked the Lesco team and injured the officials, including linemen Nadeem and Mazhar.

In a similar incident, the residents of the border area village of Chohriwala, in the limits of Ganda Singh Police Station, attacked a Lesco team when it raided their houses on charge of electricity theft.

The officials were accompanied by the Rangers and Elite Force.

Police lodged a case against 85 suspects, including 15 nominated under sections of the PPC and The Punjab Sound System (Regulations) Act 2015 on the complaint of a Lesco official, Nisar Ahmed.

One of the nominated suspects is in the Punjab Patrol Police.

The villagers made announcements in the village mosques to call other villagers for the attack. While dozens of villagers besieged the Lesco force, it called police by dialing 15.

Interestingly, a team of local police was already there to arrest a suspected bike thief and facing resistance from the villagers. The villagers got the suspect released from custody.

The villagers, already charged, attacked the Lesco team and manhandled the officials. The suspects also kept the Lesco officials in illegal custody and snatched cash and valuables from them. They damaged the official vehicles.

Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2025