SIALKOT - A large number of people, including women and children, thronged local rivers, canals and water channels to beat the scorching weather here on Sunday.
They remained busy bathing there to beat the prevalent hot weather, violating the ban on bathing in rivers, canals, streams and water channels by the district administration. Local police have already shown their inability to halt the people from bathing in rivers and canals because of shortage of police personnel.
“There is a great shortage of police personnel in Sialkot district due to which we are unable to halt people from bathing in rivers and canals,” said the local senior police officials.
A rush of people was also witnessed at Head Marala, a picnic spot near Sialkot. They were bathing in low level water of River Chenab near Head Marala. Most of them reached there after travelling long distances from neighbouring districts. The boats are back in River Chenab at a picnic spot near Head Marala-Sialkot as the water level was soaring in River Chenab due to the ongoing fresh melting of snow from the snow-covered alps in neighbouring Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. There was a rush of the people picnicking there. The youths were playing cricket and football there.
The Head Marala is also a picnic spot where a large number of people reached to rejoice the joy of natural landscape and beauty. They also enjoyed boating there.
DISABLED PERSONS GET ASSISTANCE
Sialkot Deputy Commissioner Dr Syed Bilal Haider distributed wheelchairs, tricycles, clutches, sewing machines, white canes and other equipment to 450 disabled persons during a special ceremony here. Sialkot exporters and philanthropists had donated these articles with a sole aim to serve the humanity.
Man in custody dies due to police torture’
An inmate named Zafar Abbas (35) was mysteriously found dead in the lock-up of Rangpura police station here on Sunday.
The police had arrested him in a bike robbery case. The family of the deceased alleged that he was brutally tortured to death by police in Rangpura police station, while, the local police officials claimed that he committed suicide by hanging himself with his shirt in the cell.
Zafar was a resident of village Khanour-Sabzpeer, Pasrur tehsil. His family lodged a strong protest against Rangpura police. They also chanted anti-police slogans. They blamed the police for torturing him to death, and adding that they were portraying his murder in custody as suicide. Locals have urged Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar, Inspector General of Police Capt (r) Arif Nawaz, Regional Police Officer (RPO) Gujranwala Region Tariq Abbas Qureshi and Sialkot DPO Mustansar Feroz Khan to take notice of the police highhandedness and provide justice to the bereaved family.
TWO KITE SELLERS HELD
Daska police have arrested two accused namely Ali Raza and Farman Ali and recovered as many as 1,335 different kinds of kites from them. Police have sent the accused behind the bars after registering separate cases against them under The Punjab Prohibition of Kites Ordinance 2001.
