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DERA GHAZI KHAN, Aug 5: Unidentified gunmen have kidnapped 18 people sailing in a boat to cross the Indus River between Rahim Yar Khan and Rajanpur. Police have yet to find a clue to the people who were kidnapped on Saturday evening.
Several people who travel between Chacharan Sharif (in Rahim Yar Khan district) and Kot Mithan (Rajanpur district) use boats in the absence of a bridge on the river.
About 20 armed men, who also boarded the boat from Chachran, took its control when it reached in the river’s centre. Once ashore, they released women and children and drove the men along with the booty — nine motorbikes and ornaments — towards woods along the river.
Police of the two districts were not sure where the outlaws were now in hiding. The released women said they had taken refuge in the riverine area of Rajanpur.
The Dera Ghazi Khan Range deputy inspector general however said the criminals were not in his range, which also included Rajanpur.
UTILITY STORES: Despite written public complaints against the misappropriation and black-marketing of edible items at utility stores in the Dera Ghazi Khan circle, USC authorities are yet to take any action.
Consumer rights committee convener Nazim Shah filed an application against malpractices of some USC staff in Dera Ghazi Khan region. He said the USC area manager had caught the store heads of Dasti Pull and Notak black marketing ghee and sugar but no action was taken against them.
Meanwhile, the federal minister for telecommunication and information technology opened a utility store at Fort Munro on Saturday.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari said that 5,000 utility stores would be set up in the country.
CONSUMER COUNCIL: The Consumer Protection Council has criticised various local flourmills and cement companies for not mentioning expiry date on their products.
The council has already filed cases against 13 flourmills and a cement firm for not mentioning expiry date on their products.
Arjumand Khan Lodhi, the council’s assistant director legal, said manufacturers must mention date of manufacture and expiry on their products, adding that this practice would help check hoarding of these commodities.
