MIRPUR (AJK) - Five people were injured as lawyers attacked the office of Director Estate Management, Mirpur Development Authority (MDA) over the director’s “indifferent attitude” towards public as well as “massive corruption and malpractices”.

The two lawyers and three police constables received minor injuries when the police tried to disperse dozens of the furious lawyers from the office.

District Bar Association led by its President Raja Zulfiqar Ahmed Advocate has given dead line of two days to the AJK government for meeting their demands including the suspension of Director Raja Imran Shaheen from service for dereliction of duties and the issuance of a letter from the higher MDA authorities about early expedition of the long-standing pending applications of over 120 shelter-less lawyers about allotment of residential plots in any housing sector of the MDA in Mirpur.

The DBA maintained that despite repeated reminders, in writing, verbally and through telephone calls by the DBA president and the secretary general, the DEM paid no response by expediting their applications positively. Deputy Commissioner Ansar Yaqoob, SSP Raja Irfan Salim and other officials of the district administration rushed to the scene and brought the situation under control. Police contingent was immediately summoned at the site to overcome the situation.

Responding to the protesters’ delegation, Commissioner Sardar Zaffar Mahmood assured them entertaining the lawyers demands by strictly keeping within the parameters of law and regulations. The DG pledged to make the allotment in line with the determined rules and regulations after formal approval of the under-construction site-plan of the residential sector by the MDA Board.

A large number of lawyers rushed to the office to inquire about the fate of their cases about allotment of the plots in response to the much-prolonged applications submitted by the DBA. The lawyers allegedly went furious when they did not find he DEM Imran Shaheen in his office and at the same time allegedly reacted by breaking the windowpanes of his office as well as the branch of the HBL located in front of his office.

Led by the magistrates including ADC (G) Raja Saeed Akram, Assistant Commissioner Raja Qaiser Aurangzeb, the police  intervened to quell the fast deteriorating situation at this stage. Two lawyers and three police men sustained minor injuries during the episode. The demonstrating lawyers blocked main F/2 Road by staging protest in front of the MDA offices complex for about three hours.

A large number of employees of MDA also came out of their offices to retaliate after the administration had brought the situation under full control.

AH Rao