Colleague thrashed: FESCO workers give police 24 hours to arrest attackers

We will suspend electricity supply to the area, workers warned.

FAISALABAD: “If the police do not arrest the ten men, who attacked  Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco) Sub-Divisional Officer Muhammad Arif, in 24 hours, we will suspend electricity supply to the entire region,” Central Labour Union Samundri subdivision secretary Hafiz Yousuf warned on Wednesday.

Hundreds of Fesco employees from Tandlianwala, Mamu Kanjan and Samundri sub-divisions went on strike and staged a protest demonstration in front of their offices on Wednesday.

They demanded that the police arrest the men who had attacked Muhammad Arif, the SDO of the Rehmay Shah Subdivision, at his office on Tuesday.

Central Labour Union Samundri subdivision chairman Rana Muhammad Aslam said 10 men had barged into Arif’s office and requested an “illegal favour”.

When he refused, the men started shouting and beat up Arif. Aslam said that they snatched Arif’s mobile phone and wallet and trashed the office.

“Arif called police and they registered a complaint against the men,” Aslam said. “However, the men are influential and the police seem reluctant to arrest them.”

Union divisional secretary Yousuf said it was a pity that the miscreants had not been arrested. “If police do not arrest the men in the next 24 hours, we may use the option of suspending electricity supply to the entire area,” he said.

Addressing protesters at Tandlianwala subdivision, All Pakistan Hydro Labour Union Tandlianwala divisional chairman Waheedul Hasan Baloch said the assailants had not only attacked the SDO, but had also terrorised other Fesco workers at the office. “Police must prosecute the attackers under terrorism charges and arrest them as soon as possible.”

Khadim Hussain, chairman of the Wapda Hydro Electric Central Labour Union in Mamu Kanjan, said they would continue to protest till the attackers were arrested and made an example of.

The Tandlianwala Saddar SHO said the police had registered a case against the attackers on the complaint of SDO Muhammad Arif.

The SHO said that the police had constituted a team to trace the suspects. “They are at large but we will hopefully arrest them in the next 24 hours,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 22^nd, 2015.