PESHAWAR: Mob damages phone centre

Published August 18, 2004

PESHAWAR, Aug 17: An unruly mob stormed an outlet of a mobile phone company in Saddar Bazaar on Tuesday, forcing police to resort to baton charge. A large number of people waiting since morning for free mobile connections became angry when they were told that the company's quota for the outlet was exhausted.

They attacked the office of the Pak Telecom Mobile Limited in Cantonment area and damaged furniture and equipment. "They were in hundreds and unmanageable," said the company manager Syed Mukarram Ali Tariq.

He said trouble started when the management closed the office. Police, backed by armed personnel carriers resorted to baton charge to disperse the crowd. Eye-witnesses said that two policemen sustained minor injuries. Police was deployed to avoid any further mishap. The company had set up 15 sale centres in the provincial capital to provide free connections.