KARACHI, Aug 16: Strong contingents of police and Rangers on Monday conducted a raid on Prince Cinema, located on M. A. Jinnah Road, and arrested 30 women and 100 men.

Capital City Police Officer Tariq Jamil, DIG Fayyaz Leghari and TPO Saddar Dr Sanaullah Abbasi, who led the raid, claimed that the women were prostitutes and the other people their customers.

They said that the raid had been conducted on a tip-off suggesting that the cinema had been turned into a brothel for the last few months. At the time of the raid, owner of the cinema Akbar, along with his son, Sami, was present in his office. Both of them, as well as managers, operators and other staff members, were arrested and the cinema was sealed off.

Home Minister Rauf Siddiqui has ordered immediate suspension of the SHO and other staff of Saddar police station. He also issued directives for lodging a case against them and instituting an inquiry into the whole matter. DIG Operation Fayyaz Leghari would be conducting the inquiry.

Earlier, police and Rangers surrounded the cinema at about 4:30pm and cordoned off all its entry/exit points. They arrested the alleged prostitutes and also a large number of the men watching an English film in a matinee show at that time.

The officials claimed that the cinema had been kept under observation for about a week and the decision to conduct a raid in presence of mediamen had been taken only after the tip-off proved correct.

The home minister said that the government was in favour of encouraging healthy recreational activities but could not, at any cost, allow spread of obscenity and such an illegal trade in the name of film show.

He said the authorities had been informed that managers of the cinema used to arrange prostitutes and accommodate them with customers in the cinema hall. All lights were switched off and show started to facilitate their obscene activities, he added.

Cinema owner Akbar, when asked by media men, said he was unaware about any such activities. He, however, added that the managers might have been involved. He pointed out that he and his son had just arrived when the raid was conducted on the cinema.

The managers, Tariq and Javed, told newsmen in the presence of Akbar that they had started the illegal trade a few days back. About their modus operandi, they said they had been issuing tickets to prostitutes and engaging customers for the seats next to them.

However, the arrested women, stated to be hailing from Sukkur, said they lived in Lalu Khait (Liaquatabad) and had been there only to watch the film. The arrested 'customers' appeared to be belonging to working class. Some of them said that they hailed from interior Sindh areas and were staying in Karachi. They said they had come only to watch the film.

When the minister and police officers were about to leave, a man waved his card to show the newsmen that he was an employee of the Film Censor Board. He said he had been there in connection with a raid on the cinema for showing obscene films. Home minister said that a thorough investigation into the affair would be carried out. - PPI