Food safety: MNA impedes campaign against adulteration

Aziz Bhatti TMA says suspects caught on raid released on MNA’s intervention.


Shahram Haq July 15, 2011

LAHORE:


The chief minister’s new crackdown on food adulteration suffered an embarrassing hitch on Thursday, when a politician from his own party apparently used his political influence to get the police to release 10 men netted for selling unhygienic food.


Special teams of food, health, livestock and agriculture inspectors led by the town municipal officers (TMOs) were recently formed for each town of the city to check hygiene conditions in places where food is prepared, processed or sold, such as factories, bakeries and restaurants.

Previously, inspectors from the city district government’s food department had proved ineffective at enforcing regulations. This was often because they went on raids with at most a subordinate or two, and those they were trying to penalise could resist them through force and intimidation. For the current crackdown, the inspection teams are being given police escorts.

The Aziz Bhatti Town team went on its first raids of the campaign on Thursday in Harbanspura, Taj Bagh and nearby areas. The inspectors found unhygienic items being sold in several shops and bakeries. Ten men were taken to Harbanspura police station. Sheikh Rohail Ashgar   the local Member of the National Assembly, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz – arrived soon after. Saying the men were supporters of his, he persuaded the police to release them. Asghar was unavailable for comment.

“We did our job by taking those 10 people to the police station,” said Muhammad Bakhsh Ansari, the Aziz Bhatti TMO. “The police should not have let this MNA take them away without registering an FIR.”

Ansari informed the district coordination officer (DCO), who sought a report in writing. This will be forwarded to the Home Department, which is supervised by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

The police denied that the men caught on the raids had been actually brought inside the station. “The MNA took them away from outside the police station,” said the moharrar of Harbanspura police station. He said that the TMA had not asked the police to register FIRs.

Harbanspura Station House Officer (SHO) Rana Shahid refused to comment, saying he did not know anything about the case.

“They were taken away from inside the police station,” said Ansari. “I don’t know why the police are lying. The matter is in the SHO’s knowledge. Maybe the MNA threatened them.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 15th, 2011.

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