HARIPUR, April 22: In a clear violation of the ban on poppy crop, farmers in Hattar area have cultivated the crop at about three acres of land, a team of local newsmen observed here on Tuesday.

The Hattar police, however, registered a case against two growers under section 5 of CNSA and arrested them on Wednesday.

The local newsmen, on receiving reports, when visited the wheat crop fields on Baseera road situated at a distance of about one kilometre to the east of Dohrian stop Hattar on the main Hattar Taxila road, found the poppy crop in full bloom. A close look of the reaped plants, suggested that it was cut hardly a couple of days back and growers were reportedly awaiting to dispose it of soon.

It was alleged that the land actually was owned by a local influential man who was also the Nazim of Hattar Union Council. However, the Nazim's family sources said that the owner had contracted the land on lease to two tillers from Dargai and Chakdara.

The tillers, the sources said, had been growing poppy on this particular piece of land for the last few seasons. The SHO Hattar police station, when contacted for comments, expressed his ignorance about the cultivation of the poppy in his area.

However, according to police record collected from DPO office, Haripur, a case was registered against two men - Sher Zameen, son of Shakay, a resident of Dargai, and Alam Zeb Khan, son of Salarzai, a resident of Chakdara, at present settled in Hattar area, under Section 5 of the CNSA on Feb 21, 2004, for growing poppy at 10 marla area and they were arrested on April 21.

When contacted the DPO Haripur, Abdullah Khan, told Dawn that the poppy growing was not in the knowledge of police because neither the halqa patwari nor intelligence agencies had informed him about it. He asserted the area people had destroyed the crop voluntarily and the accused had been arrested.