DADU, Jan 17: Residents of village Hafiz Khush Muhammad Panhwar in the vicinity of the Zamzama oil and gas field surrounded the Johi police station on Sunday night following allegations that an official of a law-enforcement agency had barged into a house in the village and maltreated some women.

The official of the agency which provides security to the gas field where a filtration plant has been set up by a multinational company, is alleged to have tried to take away a girl from the house and when the girl's mother and other women put up resistance, he maltreated them.

However, the women and some villagers who had reached the place managed to get hold of the official and handed him over to the Johi police station.

Later, a large number of villagers and representatives of some political parties staged a sit-in outside the police station, and staged protests in the town demanding registration of a criminal case against the official under the Anti-Terrorism Act. They alleged that they were being pressurized by the law enforcement agency not to pursue the matter.

The protesters were led by STPP taluka Johi president Ghulam Qadir Leghari, PPP-SB leader Khuda Bux Khoso, JSQM's taluka president Ghulam Nabi Bhutto and PML's Ghulam Hyder Bhutto. They condemned the attack and also criticized officials of the oil company for harassing the villagers.

They said that some projects had been launched by the company at selected places only to please some influential people, whereas the areas of poor people who needed employment were being neglected.

They said that police did not lodge the FIR of the incident and handed over the accused to an official of the company, despite the fact that the girl's mother, Ms Amanat, demanded registration of a case.

On Monday morning, a senior official of the law-enforcement agency visited the village and tendered an apology. He said that the services of the accused official had been terminated without any service benefits. However, the area UC Nazim Saeed Ahmed told Dawn that the protest campaign would continue against the company if the FIR was not lodged against the official under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Meanwhile, the official in-charge of security of the oil and gas field, Colonel (retd) Zulfikar Ali Khan, described the incident as unfortunate and said that it should not have taken place.

He said that a team of law-enforcement personnel had visited the house of Ms Amanat, tendered apology and assured her that strict action would be taken against the delinquent official.

He said that officials of the agency were under orders not to enter nearby villages, and added that the accused had gone to the village without informing his officers.

Our Hyderabad correspondent adds: Speaking to Dawn on phone, a senior official of the law-enforcement agency denied that it was a criminal assault attempt and said that it was a case of misunderstanding which the other side had also realised and forgiven the man who, according to him, was a cook.

He admitted that the man had gone to the house and knocked at the door and since he did not know Sindhi it led to some misunderstanding and an exchange of words. He maintained that the accused had been booked under the rules of the law-enforcement agency and was under detention.

He also said that disciplinary action would be taken against him on the findings of an inquiry which was started soon after the incident. He said that some notables and he himself, along with other officials, had talked to members of the aggrieved family who had now forgiven the cook. But, he would not be forgiven by the force itself. He, however, added that at this stage he could not say if his services would be terminated.