Rioting case: Court grants bail pre-arrest to four teachers

They were booked on rioting charges for protesting delay in payment of salaries.

ISLAMABAD: A district and sessions court on Monday granted pre-arrest bail to four daily-wage teachers in a rioting case.

The Kohsar police booked the teachers including a woman after dozens of daily-wagers ran riot during a protest rally against non-regularisation of service and delay in payment of salaries on January 1.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Atta Rabbani granted pre-arrest bail to Rabia Waheed, Ihsanullah, Fahad Meraj Khan and  Ihsanullah Khan after they moved a bail plea before the court.

In the FIR, the police stated that the protesting daily-wagers, who were being led by the teachers, staged a sit-in at the Express Chowk and blocked the road by setting bonfire.

According to the police, they also attempted to enter the Red Zone in violation of a ban under Section 144.

The protesting teachers were also charged with the use of criminal force against police, and rioting and unlawful assembly.

Hundreds of daily-wage teaching and non-teaching staffers of 424 model and federal schools have been protesting against what they called apathy and discriminatory policy of the education high-ups, who, according to them, have turned a deaf ear to their woes, consequently pushing them to the brink of frustration and retardation.

In December, the finance ministry approved Rs140 million for payment of salaries of daily-wagers that was due since July, 2015, but it was yet to be paid.

A special cabinet body headed by MNA Kurshid Shah during the tenure of the Pakistan People’s Party government had recommended regularisation of over 1,800 daily-wage staffers. Of them, 844 were issued regularisation letters but a large number of them were yet to be issued letters.

The court granted bail to the teachers till January 13.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 5^th, 2016.