“However, the situation has become serious and a team has been formed to investigate the complaints,” he said. PHOTO: REUTERS
FAISALABAD: Scores of residents of Chak 228-RB staged a protest demonstration on Monday against the police for failing to stop donkey disappearances in their area.
The protesters gathered at Khannuana Bypass Road and blocked it for traffic near Makkoana. As a result, traffic in the area was suspended for several hours.
Taking to newsmen, Abdul Qudoos, one of the protesters, said some people had been stealing donkeys from farms and had been selling their meat and hides.
“Some villagers have come across carcasses of donkeys in sugarcane fields where they were left behind by the ‘butchers’,” he said.
Chaudhary Abdul Hameed, another protester, said as many as 15 donkeys had been stolen from the village over two weeks.
“We complained about the incident to Saddar police but they did not take us seriously,” he said.
Muhammad Arshad Chaudhary, another protester, said on Monday morning, some fa++rmers had spotted pools of blood at five spots in sugarcane fields.
He said villagers feared that the donkeys were being stolen from them, taken to sugarcane fields and butchered their. He said police should investigate whether donkey meat was being sold in the market. The protestors chanted slogans against police and demanded arrest of those stealing and killing donkeys.
They also urged the Food Department to launch a crackdown on the sale of donkey meat.
Later, a police contingent headed by the Saddar SHO reached the scene and assured the protesters that those responsible would be taken to task according to law.
The villagers then called off their protest and dispersed peacefully.
Talking to The Express Tribune, the Saddar SHO said earlier, complaints of donkey theft had been ignored because priority was being given to investigation of heinous crimes.
“However, the situation has become serious and a team has been formed to investigate the complaints,” he said.
He said a team had been formed to trace out the men responsible. He said if pools of blood had been found, it was likely that the donkeys had been transported to other places.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 13th, 2015.
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