HOW the power drunk behave often remains covered by the thick sheet of their influence that is of late being invaded by CCTV cameras. One such clip graced the transmission of some private television channels featuring a daughter of Shahbaz Sharif who tried to buy a cake in Lahore, but taught a lesson to a petty employee who dared say that it wasn’t available.

The bakery-owner mustered the courage to have a case registered only when media highlighted the incident in the absence of a suo motu action from courts. After filing the case, however, he did not appear before the local court for reasons best known to him alone. Has there been some pressure applied on him? The guess is yours.

The CCTV footage showed a woman, later identified as chief minister’s daughter Rabia Inam, escorted by police guards trying to enter a bakery in Defence Housing Authority’s T Block when it was temporarily closed for cleaning. The employee informed them that the shop was closed, but he was harshly treated by the Sharif daughter. ?After a few hours, police guards again visited the bakery and dragged Irfan, the employee, out. He was beaten and taken away.

The two episodes took place on October 7, but an FIR was registered only on October 16, mainly because of public and media censure. ?The chief minister was abroad and the official quarters claimed that the FIR was registered after he personally took notice on return.

During the nine-day lull, police and the PML-N tried to de-link the daughter from the affair. Some news channels reported that police intentionally delayed case registration and ‘amended’ the facts to claim that the victim had been abducted before being thrashed.

Finally, Ali Imran Yousaf, the Sharif son-in-law, who was not even in the footage, courted arrest with great pomp and show. Six policemen and two private guards were also arrested. All of them have been on bail ever since.

Bakery owner Umer Hussain stopped visiting the bakery soon after the incident got media attention, while Irfan went on leave.