Three shot and injured in firing at wagon drivers

Drivers allege extortion.

FAISALABAD:

Wagon drivers Asad Ali, Ghulam Rasool and Arif Hussain were injured when they came under fire started allegedly by gunmen of owners of the Khurarianwala bus and wagon stand on Wednesday.

Several people including the families of the injured drivers later gathered at Khurarianwala Chowk and blocked traffic on the Faisalabad-Sheikhupura Road for several hours to protest the shooting.

The protesters demanded the immediate arrest of the owners of the wagon stand and the people who opened fire.

Binyameen, one of the protesters, said, “The wagon stand owners were extorting money from the drivers, but some of the drivers refused to pay them.”

This led to an altercation between the stand owners and the drivers. The owners’ gunmen opened fire at the drivers and injured three, he said. “The owners are backed by an MPA,” said Binyameen.
He said the owners used to charge them Rs100 for a trip, but had recently doubled the fee and were charging Rs150 extra as toll tax.

The protestors placed blockades along the Faisalabad-Sheikhupura Road and burned tyres.

They chanted slogans against the stand owners and demanded the immediate arrest of those accused of injuring the wagon drivers.
A police squad led by the Khurarianwala station house officer visited the scene and placated the protestors.

The station house officer told The Express Tribune, “We have received a complaint against the stand owners and their gunmen. We are looking for them.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 18^th, 2013.