MULTAN, May 5: As many as five women and a tenant, who were protesting against the arrest of nine tenants, were injured on Monday when Rangers and police reportedly opened fire to disperse them.

Hundreds of tenants had staged a sit-in on southern and northern sides of the GT Road on Sunday afternoon to protest against the recent arrests of their colleagues and members of their families.

They had announced that the sit-in would be continued until the release of the nine people arrested recently. The tenants were shifting few furlongs away on both sides of the highway. They had reportedly brought food and water to remain there for an ‘indefinite’ period.

A majority of the protectors spent the whole night between Sunday and Monday on the GT Road. On Monday morning, reinforcement from the Rangers turned up to the troubled spot on three buses to strengthen the position of a joint contingent of the paramilitary force and police pitched already against protesters.

About 12:30 noon, the law-enforcers baton-charged the protesters, who started running in panic to save themselves from the teargas shelling.

During stampede, the Rangers allegedly opened firing on the orders of their commanding officer on the spot, who was identified as Colonel Saleem. As a result of the teargas shelling, baton-charge and firing, at least five women and a man were injured. The law-enforcers took away the injured with them.

One of the injured was identified as Lateef Chaudhry, the brother of Punjab Anjuman Mazareen (Okara zone) President Ghani Javed. Among the injured women, names of Sakina of Chak 4/4L and Safia of Chak 12/4L could be learnt.

The tenants, however, had not ended their sit-in even at the time of filing of this report at 8.30 pm.

On the other hand, the Rangers and police contingents were reported to be alert for further offensive.

It may be added here that tenants of some 21 state-run agricultural land livestock farms in the province are demanding proprietary rights against the lands of their tenancies, which they claimed to have been cultivating for nearly a century.

On the other hand, the government wants them to accept the status of lessees, allegedly denying them what they (tenants) claimed their right to have ownership on their tenancy lands. In a statement issued here, the AMP and People’s Rights Movement condemned what they called reprehensible and uncalled for action against peacefully protesting tenants of the military farm.