LAHORE, March 26: A lack of interest on the part of police to prevent a mob, protesting against power outages, from turning violent resulted in the death of a labourer and serious injuries to another near Shalamar Chowk on GT Road on Monday.

Witnesses told Dawn a good number of workers of small industrial units in the localities along Bund Road in Shalamar Town had started gathering in the Daroghawala main bazaar around noon.

A majority of the main bazaar traders succumbed to the demand of the workers to shut down their businesses and join the protest. After gaining ground, the protesters came on GT Road and started forcing shop owners, mechanics and others to shut down their concerns.

Asad Ali was getting petrol for his motorcycle when some of the protesters approached the staff manning the filling station near Shalamar Chowk.

“Some half a dozen youth asked the salesmen to shut down the pump. The staff refused and the youth asked their colleagues to ransack it.

Someone from the pump staff ordered the security guards to open fire. “I pressed the accelerator and managed to rescue myself from there while hearing gunshots,” the youth told Dawn.

Ashiq, a shopkeeper, said the policemen remained unmoved when two men sustained bullet injuries.

“One of the injured breathed his last in front of my eyes. The crowd became uncontrollable after the death of the man and the protesters ransacked everything in sight. Had the police taken action in time, the situation would not have worsened to this extent,” he said.

Heavy contingents of police were present at Lakshmi Chowk, Scheme Mor on Multan Road, main boulevards of Allama Iqbal Town and Sabzazaar where traffic was disrupted by protesters, some of whom also pelted vehicles with stones.