HARIPUR, Dec 20: The local police have arrested a protesting citizen on charges of being “drunk” and “disorderly” and sent him to jail here on Friday.

According to eyewitnesses, Shafqat, a resident of Mohalla Malikpura, had a running dispute over construction of a wall with his neighbour for quite some time.

Some time back, Shafqat again had a brawl with his neighbour, who reportedly beat him up.

On Friday, a seemingly disappointed Shafqat staged a sit-in, on the GT Road, in protest against what he described as injustice being done to him by the police and his influential neighbours.

Hardly causing any interruption to the flow of traffic, the middle-aged man kept sitting there for half an hour. When approached by the people, he told them that since he had failed to get his grievance redressed after running from pillar to post, he would now either commit suicide or get relief.

In the meantime, some policemen came and took him away to the police station. There, an FIR was registered against him, charging him with being drunk and disorderly, “interrupting peace and tranquillity of the citizens.”

The police said the man was quarrelsome and a habitual drinker, who had made lives of neighbours and family members miserable.

The local community members contested this version, saying he had long been complaining of excesses of some of his neighbours and family members.