Murder: Workers protest against police for not arresting suspects

Armed men had shot dead an anti-polio team worker on Dec 2.

FAISALABAD:

Scores of Health Department workers on Friday staged a protest demonstration in front of the city government secretariat against police for not arresting robbers who shot dead their colleague three weeks ago.

The protestors included employees of Allied Hospital, Faisalabad, divisional headquarters hospital and the Health Department.

Abdus Sattar, one of the protestors, told the media that Basharat Hameed, an anti-polio team worker, was on his way home from work on December 2 when he was stopped by unidentified men in Tandlianwala.

“They told him to hand over his motorcycle, cash and other valuables… when he resisted, they shot him and fled… Hameed died on the spot,” he said.

Sattar said a complaint had been filed with the police but his killers were still at large.

He said, “The police had only lodged a complaint to pacify the polio workers and the relatives of the deceased… no progress has been made in the case so far.”

The protestors blocked University Road and demanded that the culprits be immediately arrested.
They also demanded provision of better security for anti-polio teams during drives. Otherwise, they would boycott these campaigns, they said.

The protest ended when Muhammad Akram, a representative of City Police Officer (CPO) Haider Ashraf assured the protestors that the men responsible for Hameed’s death would be dealt with in accordance with the law. He said a team had been formed for this.

The protestors said they would boycott health activities if the police did not arrest the suspects within a week.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 28^th, 2013.