GUJRAT: Jalalpur Jattan Saddar police have booked over 100 people, including a former union council chairman from Daska, for allegedly attacking the toll plaza at Shahbazpur bridge along the Chenab.

The case has been lodged against Tahir Farooq Warraich, Zaheer Ahmed and their at least 100 unidentified accomplices under sections 427, 341 and 186 of Pakistan Penal Code on the report of Muhammad Ahmed, an inspector of highways department.

Tahir Farooq Warraich, a resident of Jalalpur Jattan area, has been a former chairman of union council Siyan, Daska tehsil, Sialkot.

Police have started investigation into the matter whereas a Gujrat local court has granted pre-arrest bail.

Scores of the residents of different villages gathered at the Shahbazpur toll plaza on Tuesday and lodged a strong protest against the tax and declined to pay the toll.

The protesters termed the tax an illegal act of the highways department and they said the matter had also been raised before Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz during her visit to flood relief camp at Shahbazpur on Sept 5.

According to the area people, the Punjab CM had reportedly issued directions to the administration to remove the toll plaza.

However, the officials of Punjab highways department said the toll tax had been imposed through a notification of Punjab government in January 2024 and so far the government had neither withdrawn the notification nor the CM issued any such orders.

The Shahbazpur bridge connects Gujrat to Sialkot and residents of a number of villages on both sides of the river used to travel several times in a day due to which they had been against the imposition of toll tax to cross the bridge.

A resident of Shahbazpur village said a lot of locals had been residing on Hujrat side but their agricultural land was located on Sialkot side and they had to commute for several times in a day.

They have urged the Punjab CM to resolve the issue.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2025