BAHAWALNAGAR: Five staffers suffered injures after a team of Chishtian Tehsil Municipal Committee (TMC) was allegedly attacked with scissors and knives during an anti-encroachment drive on Saturday.

The injured have been identified as Naseer, Tahir, Mehmood, Nasrullah and Anjum.

Police reached the spot and arrested two of the assailants but released them a few hours later. It stirred protest in the area as the TMC employees blocked main road for traffic. The protest continued for several hours and Chishtian DSP Jawad Sakha had to negotiate with the protesters who agreed to disperse after assurance of registration of a case against the suspects.

The police booked six ‘assailants’ and arrested three of them. The police also allegedly took into custody two mediamen - Amir Jutt and Muhammad Ahmed - who were covering the attack on TMC employees.

The journalists were allegedly tortured and released after protest by the newsmen.

On Sunday, the police booked TMC Chairman Abdul Razzaq Ramay, 38 TMC employees and 16 journalists on charges of agitation.

Several attempts were made to get the version of the DSP, but he did not attend the phone calls.

The TMC chairman flayed behaviour of the DSP, urging the police high-ups to take notice of the situation. He threatened to go on a pen-down strike along with the TMC employees if the police officials were not punished.

The journalists passed a resolution condemning fake FIRs and demanded that the IG transfer the DSP.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2018