Dozens of Rail Bazaar jewellers on Friday staged a protest demonstration against Batala Colony police for allegedly misbehaving with them.
The protestors blocked the Gumti Chowk for traffic and demanded that Batala Colony SHO Abid Zafar be immediately suspended.
Sagheer Ahmad, one of the protestors, told the media that “SHO Abid Zafar had called the Jewellers Association General Secretary Muhammad Arshad to the police station on Thursday and accused him for patronising thieves.”
The protest ended when Batala Colony DSP Javaid Khan assured the protestors that action would be taken against the SHO in accordance with law.
The SHO told The Express Tribune that “Jewellers Association general secretary was called to the police station as part of an investigation in a robbery case.”
He said the police had arrested a robber who said that he had sold the stolen gold at Sarfaraz and Hashim Jewellers in the bazaar.
The SHO said, “The owners of the jewellery shops and Arshad were called to the police but they not only refused to cooperate with the police but also accused a constable of beating them up.”
He said the jewellers were “trying to divert the attention of police from recovery of the stolen gold.”
In another protest in the city, kiln workers protested against Saddar police for releasing a man held in a robbery case. The protestors staged a sit-in in front of the city government secretariat and blocked the University Road.
Muhammad Amin, one of the protestors, said that the kiln workers had caught robbers, Sarwar, Shehzad and Iftikhar, red-handed from Lal Khan’s brick kiln in Chak 238-RB on Thursday.
He said the men were handed over to Saddar police but the police had released them after taking a bribe.
The protestors chanted slogans against the police and demanded re-arrest of the accused.
The protest ended when a police team headed by Civil Lines station house officer assured the protestors that the accused would be re-arrested.
Saddar station house officer told The Express Tribune that “the men were found to be innocent …hence they were released.
He said, “There was no bribery as alleged.”
Published in The Express Tribune, August 3rd, 2013.