OKARA, Nov 10 Cantonment police on Wednesday registered a case against 176 tenants of village 25/4L for allegedly resisting a contractor from taking possession of his 100 acres of land.

A state of tension prevailed in villages 17/4L, 18/4L and 25/4L of the Okara military farms after a new lessee, Mahmood Khan, was given 100 acres of agriculture land of the military farm in village 25/4L as the former lessee was defaulted.

On Tuesday afternoon, Mahmood Khan along with his men came to take possession of the land, but dozens of tenants put up a resistance and allegedly pushed them out.

Anjuman Mozareen Punjab Secretary-General Mehr Abdul Sattar told Dawn on phone the new lessee with the help of the police and some criminals tried to occupy the land in a clear violation of the commitment of the administration.

He claimed that tenants had overpowered absconder Abbas of village 43/D, an accomplice of Mahmood, and handed him over to the Cantonment police along with his weapon while their other accomplices managed to escape.

A large number of tenants also held a protest demonstration in village 25/4L which was addressed by AMP leaders Mehr Abdul Sattar, vice-president Nadeem Ashraf, Advocate Noor Nabi, Haji Ghulam Husain and Kulyana Estate's AMP President Saleem Jakhhar and Muhammad Altaf Kamboh.

The protesting tenants raised slogans against the administration and police for registering a false case against 176 tenants, including Shahzad, Arshad, Chaudhry Altaf, Akhter Hameed, Abdul Sattar, Latif and Allah Ditta.

District Police Officer Muhammad Azeem Arshad said Sadar DSP Shafiq Khan Baloch had been deputed as an inquiry officer to probe the matter. He said no arrest would be made till the completion of the investigation.

He said 100 acres of agriculture land belonged to the army 40-Div and had no concern with the military farm lands and the tenants issue.

The 40-Div administration had leased out this land to Mahmood Khan after the cancellation of the former lessee, he said.

BOY KILLED A teenaged boy was killed in a jubilation firing during a marriage ceremony in Hafiz Lal village near Hujra Shah Muqeem on Wednesday.

According to an FIR, Muhammad Imran (15) hit a bullet when Majid Ali and his friend Mehmood resorted to aerial firing. He was shifted to a hospital where he died.

Hujra Shah Muqeem police have registered a case against the accused under Section 319 PPC.

TWO BIKERS KILLED Two motorcyclists were killed while another suffered injuries in a road accident on Wednesday near Bhokan village, Deepalpur.

Reports said Asif of Dograi village along with his friends Allah Ditta and Yasin was on his way on his bike when it was hit by a coaster. As a result, Asif and Ditta died on the spot while Yasin sustained serious injuries.

He was admitted to a hospital in a critical condition.