BAHAWALNAGAR: As many as 800 lady health workers were booked on Saturday allegedly for ransacking the deputy commissioner’s office and holding the staff hostage during a protest against non-payment of their salaries.

The case was registered on a complaint of Deputy Commissioner Office Complex caretaker Nazim Ali Khan.

In his complaint, Mr Khan alleged the lady health workers, led by Health Workers Union Punjab President Rukhsana Anwar, district president Fatima Jabeen and tehsil secretary general Masarrat Fatima, “occupied” the DC office building. “Not only did they occupy the building, but also damaged the furniture and held the staff hostage,” he said.

“About 100 staffers of the DC office saved their lives by fleeing from the scene,” he claimed.

The HWU Punjab president, on the other hand, rapped the administration for getting an FIR registered against LHWs despite resolution of the issue after talks. “We will raise voice for our rights at every forum,” she vowed.

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2018