Employee beaten by landlord’s guards, then sent to prison

The landlord, Wali Jakhrani, is reportedly a cousin of former federal minister Aijaz Jakhrani.

SUKKUR: A railway employee reportedly became victim of a landlord’s impatience when he refused to open the safety gates ahead of the Mouladad railway crossing near Jacobabad late on Tuesday. Shoukat Ghunio was on duty at the crossing and had closed the gates to let a train pass through. However, a vehicle in which the landlord, Wali Jakhrani was travelling, approached the crossing and Jakhrani’s guards asked Ghunio to open the gates to let them through.

When the gatekeeper refused to follow the guards’ orders, they beat him and Jakhrani later handed him over to the  Saddar police, who put the man behind bars.

The landlord in question, Wali Jakhrani, is reportedly a cousin of former federal minister Aijaz Jakhrani.

The police were reportedly forced to release Ghunio after railway employees protested against the incident.

Saddar ASI Abdul Rasheed, however, claimed that the police had not arrested Ghunio and denied reports about the gatekeeper’s confrontation with the landlord’s guards.

Sukkur divisional superintendent, Sardar Shaikh and other officials also expressed their ignorance about the incident. While talking to The Express Tribune, Shaikh said that he would have been informed if such an incident had taken place. However, a railway employee in Jacobabad, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Ghunio did not want to openly speak out against Jakhrani, and wanted to peacefully resolve the matter.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 2^nd, 2012.