HARIPUR: The district administration has arrested a smuggler after seizing a large quantity of wheat here.

The Saddar police said they checked a truck on Chappar Road and seized 118 sacks with 70 mounds of wheat that was being transported to Peshawar despite a ban.

They said the arrested smuggler, Juma Gul, had purchased wheat from different areas of Haripur.

The police said the wheat was shifted to the food department’s godowns.

Meanwhile, the farmers have flayed the district administration for not setting up wheat collection points in different areas.

They told reporters here that there was only one wheat collection point in Haripur and that was the food department’s godowns only where they could sell their produce.

They complained that every halqa patwari was tasked with purchasing wheat from village but the wheat transportation to the food godowns had been declared the responsibility of growers in an unjust move.

KILLER UNTRACED: The police have failed to trace the killer of a 12-year-old girl, who was shot dead in her house ina remote village of Khanpur tehsil six days ago.

Ume Aiman of Kainthla village was home alone when some unidentified person(s) entered the premises near Iftar time on May15, fired gunshots at her injuring her critically, and fled.

The neighbours shifted the girl to the tehsil headquarters hospital, where the doctors pronounced her dead.

The family didn’t nominate anyone in the FIR claiming it has no enmity.

The police have failed to trace the killer(s) and the motive behind the murder.

They said the circumstantial evidence showed that some family member or acquaintance was involved in the murder.

They said they had picked up a couple of suspected villagers for interrogation and hoped for a breakthrough in the case.

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2020