JHANG, May 20: The Kotwali police have registered a case under Anti-terrorism Act against 40 people of Basti Noorpura for attacking an imambargah and injuring at least five people and causing damage to property on Wednesday night and arrested 20 of them.

According to the FIR registered on the complainant of Wajid Abbas, about 25 people belonging to a particular sect, led by Dr Maqsood and Shakil Ahmad, gathered outside imambargah Qasr-i-Wali Asr in Basti Noorpura, adjacent to the Jhang Police Lines, at about 7pm on Tuesday and started pelting stones at the imambargah and alam. They also raised slogans.

Some notables of the area reached there and persuaded the attackers to go back. Trouble began at 11pm on Wednesday when Rana Mursleen and Maqsood Sadiq allegedly used loudspeakers of a mosque of the locality and asked the people to come out of their houses and wage a war.

On their call, 40 people armed with guns and blunt weapons, gathered outside the mosque from where they proceeded towards the imambargah. They reportedly fired shots in the air and pelted stones at the imambargah as a result of which Mohsin Raza, Sada Husain, Imran Shah, Aslam and Muzaffar sustained injuries.

A Hi-ace wagon parked inside the imambargah was also damaged. The assailants tried to torch the imambargah, but firing by caretaker Altaf Husain prevented them from fulfilling their design.