Abuse of law: Neighbours protest student’s arrest

FAISALABAD:

Scores of residents of Tandlianwala staged a protest demonstration on Saturday against police over the arrest of a college student on what they alleged were trumped-up charges.

The protesters, holding banners and placards, gathered at Katto Road and blocked it for traffic. They chanted slogans against police and urged the chief minister to take notice of their excesses.

Talking to newsmen, Masood Anwar, one of the protesters, said Tandlianwala City police had arrested Usman Wattoo, a student of Government Degree College citing suspicion of involvement in a robbery. He said the complaint had been moved by Wattoo’s rivals who had a property dispute with him. He said Wattoo’s rivals had bribed policemen and had him arrested.

“When his family asked why Wattoo was being taken away, police said they believed he was linked to a gang of robbers,” he said. “I have known him since he was a child,” Anwar said. “He is not involved in criminal activities.”

The protesters burnt old tyres near Nehar Wala Bungalow and blocked Okara-Faisalabad Road for traffic for more than three hours.

Later, a police team met the protesters and assured them that the complaint would be investigated. The protesters said they would not leave the area until Wattoo was released. The protesters dispersed when police released Wattoo a few hours later.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 11^th, 2015.