MUZAFFARGARH, May 13: Around 180 post offices in the district remained closed here on Tuesday and postal employees took out a rally to protest the alleged harassment of their colleague by a local journalist and a police official.

Postal employees told Dawn that Javed Ahmad was a postmaster at Missali Academy, Dinpur post office. Bilal Dasti, a local journalist, and sub-inspector Wali Khan harassed him to extort money. They also threatened Javed that they would implicate him in a false case but on Javed’s refusal, they came to his office two days later and told him that he was under arrest.

Javed asked Wali Khan to show him his arrest warrants but he did not show him anything on which he informed the district postmaster general and also contacted the city police but no case was registered against Bilal and Wali.

When Javed conveyed the matter to his colleagues, around 200 workers locked their offices and went on a strike. Later, they took out a rally against the harassment of their colleague and blocked the Railway Road.

The protesters later met DPO Shehzad Sultan. The DPO formed a team to probe the matter and directed City DSP Saif Khattak to take action against the accused.

The district postmaster general said that there were 180 post offices in the district and 560 employees were posted there.

He said all the workers would not attend their offices until any action was taken against the accused. He said their colleagues in others districts would also join the strike if no such action was taken.

The strike caused a great deal of inconvenience to locals and letters and money orders could not be delivered on Tuesday.

Bilal Dasti told Dawn that he was a journalist and went to the post office to get Javed’s version on a news item. He alleged that Javed had embezzled millions of rupees from Chief Minister’s Kifalat Programme.