27 water tanker drivers sent to jail

They were arrested for blocking Sharea Faisal in a protest on June 2

KARACHI: An anti-terrorism courts’ administrative judge remanded on Wednesday 27 water tanker drivers into jail custody in a case pertaining to causing a traffic jam on a main artery of the city.

The drivers were arrested in a crackdown after they blocked Sharae Faisal for more than an hour on June 2 in protest against water distribution authorities. During the hearing, the investigating officer told the judge that the suspects should be sent to jail on judicial remand as the police no longer required their custody. They were presented in court after the expiry of their physical remand.



The judge sent the truck drivers to jail and directed the IO to present the case’s charge sheet at the next hearing.

The case is registered under sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (every member of the unlawful assembly guilty of the offence), 353 (attacking law enforcers), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of duty), 341 (wrongful restraint), 427 (mischief causing damage), 337-A (shajjah — intentionally causing hurt) of the Pakistan Penal Code and sections 6 and 7(i) of the Sindh Sound Act, read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.   Two leaders of the water tanker associations have already been granted interim bail by the Sindh High Court against a surety of Rs100,000 each.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 9^th, 2016.