SUKKUR, Oct 23: Several persons, including two press photographers, were injured when the Railway police baton-charged on protestors near the Freek Hill here on Wednesday.

The police also threatened the taluka Nazim, Syed Kazim Ali Shah, and the PPP’s MPA-elect Dr Nasrullah Baloch of dire consequences if they intervened into the drive against alleged encroachers on the railways’ land.

Both of them had rushed to the rescue of the people whose houses were being demolished by the railways authorities.

The camera of the press photographers, Gulzar Shah and Hayat Khokhar, were snatched on the orders of the land encroachment officer, Sukkur and Multan Divisions, Maj (Retd) Gulzar Ali Khan.

The police also beat them up as a result of which they were injured. Three journalists, Khalid Bahaman, Mehmood Zaidi and Pervaiz Khan, also received injuries during the baton-charge.

Two women and two girls, identified as Kulsoom Chandio, Zahida, Mst Kori, Mst Saba, Irfan Soomro, were also injured.

Police also arrested Naib Nazim UC-8 Freek Hill, Deedar Magsi and Nadeem Qureshi.

The incident occurred after the residents of the area resisted the railways authorities bid to demolish their houses constructed on railway land near the Freek Hill.

Nine houses were demolished during the first phase of the anti-encroachment drive of the Railway authorities rendering the families homeless.

The people said that they had been living there for the past 40 years, adding that this area did not fall under the Railways’ authority as it belonged to the army.

Terming the drive unlawful, the Naib Nazim, Iqbal Dawood, said that he had informed higher authorities, including the Sindh governor and had asked him to urge the federal minister for Railways to stop the encroachment drive.

In a statement, he accused the railways authorities of demanding extortion money saying that only those houses were being demolished who refused to pay them the extortion money.

The general secretary of the Sukkur Press Club, Lala Asad Pathan, and the general secretary of the Sukkur Union of Journalists, Khawaja Javaid, condemned the railway police for manhandling the press photographers and the newsmen.

They threatened to launch a province-wide protests against the railways authorities if it failed to take immediate action against the land encroachment officer.

Later, the main road near the Ayub Gate was blocked by hundreds of protestors.