RAWALPINDI, Aug 1: More than 120 angry rioters who took part in a protest against prolonged power outages, went violent and burnt the Iesco office at Munirabad (Sadar Barooni area) on Tuesday night were booked by the police on charges of causing damage to the Iesco installations and creating law and order situation.

Naseem Farooq, a senior official of Iesco, lodged a complaint with the police saying that a large number of people came to the office at about 10.30pm on Tuesday.

They got violent after the Iesco gave no response to them as they were complaining that they had been braving power outages in their area for several hours due to which it was not possible for them to sit even inside their houses, he said.

The protesters then raided the office, threw its furniture on the road to set it ablaze, and went on to destroy all the record, he added. It is to mention that loadshedding-hit people pelted police with stones who tried to disperse them and later blocked the road as well. Police avoided action against the protesters and this made the situation even worse.

However, the reinforcement of police later helped the Iesco officials to disperse the angry mob. After violent protests were over, more than 120 protesters were booked by the police with no arrests till the filing of this report.

ATTOCK: As if to follow suit, people belonging to rural areas of the district took to the streets against the prolonged power outages like their fellow citizens belonging to urban areas.

Hundreds of angry residents of numerous villages staged a  demonstration in Attock on Wednesday which paralysed the civic as well as business life in the district.

The angry protesters complained they were spending sleepless nights due to prevailing power crisis as over 20 hours of loadshedding was being observed in the area in prevailing hot and humid weather and that too in the holy month of Ramazan.

The rulers were only busy in settling their own scores instead of resolving the miseries of people, causing deterioration to every walk of life with each passing day, they observed.

The frequent breakdowns and power fluctuations were also causing damages to domestic appliances like refrigerators and water pumps etc. they further complained.

The protesters later dispersed peacefully when local administration officials convinced them that situation would certainly improve in the coming couple of days.