Scores of residents of Chak 282-GB staged a protest demonstration against the Rodala Road police for allegedly beating up women during a raid at their house.
The protesters gathered at Zila Council Chowk and held a sit-in outside the city government secretariat. Holding banners and placards, the protesters blocked the University Road with barriers and held up traffic for several hours. They chanted slogans against police highhandedness and demanded immediate action against the station house officer (SHO) and fellow policemen.
Nisbat Batool, one of the protesters, told journalists that Rodala Road SHO Yousuf Shehzad and 15 other policemen forcibly entered their house without permission or warrants.
When asked why they had entered a house without permission they beat up the men in the house and said they were looking for a wanted criminal, she said.
“When the women in the house tried to stop the police from beating up the men, the policemen thrashed us all,” she said.
The policemen damaged house items and stole valuables as well, she added.
“When we cried for help, the neighbours gathered and the policemen fled,” she said.
Inspector Ibraheem Khan, a representative of the city police officer, arrived at the scene and told the protesters that strict action would be taken against the policemen in question. On his assurance, the protesters ended the demonstration.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 19th, 2014.