FAISALABAD, Dec 23: About 100 brick kiln workers along with their families staged a demonstration outside the press club here on Tuesday in protest against the alleged torture by their employers and police failure to arrest the accused.

Labourers of Dijkot gathered at the press club and chanted slogans against brick kiln owners and the police.

Talking to reporters, labourers said brick kiln owners of Chak 258-RB, Dijkot, allegedly tortured their colleagues Amjad, Arshad, Akram, Liaquat, Allah Dad, Shehbaz and Sharifan Bibi on Dec 22 for demanding wages fixed by the government. They said kiln owners had asked them to work on old rates.

The protesters said the injured labourers approached the Dijkot police for action against kiln owners, but to no avail. Instead they said the police allegedly roughed up the injured workers and asked them to remain tight-lipped over the issue.

They said the government had issued revised rates for brick kiln workers, however, the owners were not ready to follow the notification.

Dijkot SHO Ayub Sahi said: “A case is being instituted against the kiln owners who subjected the labourers to torture.”

He refuted the allegations that the police had mauled any injured labourer.

He said police had been extending to them all possible legal cover. However, he said no arrest was made so far.

Accidents: Two persons were killed and 15 others, including five children, injured in two accidents in Samundari and Jaranwala on Tuesday.

A wagon was on its way from Jaranwala to Faisalabad when it rammed into a tree near Baywala Seem when its tie-rod failed. Driver Ismail died on the spot while 13 others, including children, sustained injuries. The injured people were taken to Allied Hospital.

In Chak 448-GB, Samundari, one Zubeda was killed and her two daughters injured in a collision between two rickshaws.