Rawalpindi - Murree police have registered an attempted murder case against more than 150 people in connection with a mob attack on the convoy of Provincial Minister for Labour and Manpower Raja Ashfaq Sarwar in Union Council (UC) Gehel, informed sources on Saturday.
Raja Ashfaq Sarwar’s cavalcade comprising some 400 people including cops and government officials came under attack in Gehel village Friday last during a visit to his constituency to address a public gathering in connection with the electioneering campaign. The case was registered with Police Station (PS) Murree under sections 324/341/353/186/427/147 and 149 of Pakistan Penal Court (PPC) on complaint of Zeeshan Ishaq Satti, the driver of minister, against more than 150 people mostly belonging to Gehel village, they added.
Of the 150 accused, some 18 people including Umer Satti (said to be PTI councillor), Arsal Khan Afghani, Ikhlaq Abbasi, Jamal Satti, Masood Satti, Junaid, Nauman, Imran, Naqash, Anjum, Masood, Sadiq, Hafiz Tariq, Murtaza Satti, Gul Bahar Satti, Usama Ishtiaq, Mazhar Satti, Babar Satti and Aslam Satti were nominated in the attempted murder case that rocked the village, sources added. However, police have made no arrest so far. The villagers have protested against the minister and his men in what they are declaring a false and fabricated case against them.
According to sources, Zeeshan Ishaq Satti has lodged a written complaint with Murree police stating that he was driving the provincial minister Raja Ashfaq Sarwar in his cruiser to the venue of a public gathering. He said the minister was moving in locality with a cavalcade comprising some 400 area people, his supporters and government officials when suddenly the aforementioned 18 men armed with weapons, sticks, iron-rods and rocks appeared on the road and stopped the convoy. The mob used abusive language against Punjab government and minister Raja Ashfaq Sarwar and launched an attack on his vehicle. He alleged that Umer Satti opened fire at the vehicle of Raja Ashfaq Sarwar on wind screen and damaged it. Whereas, the other attackers pelted the cavalcade with bricks, stones and pieces of rocks damaging the vehicles. He added that Masood Satti stabbed and injured Muhammad Aftab and Junaid also hit Aftab with an iron rod. The applicant told police that the other accused kept raining in on vehicles with stones and attacking them with sticks and iron rods. He said the accused took the law into his hands and damaged government property. He sought legal action against the accused. Police, while taking action, registered attempted murder case against the accused and begun investigation with no arrest so far.
Several attempts to contact Superintendent of Police (SP) Saddar Circle Behram Khan and Station House Officer (SHO) Police Station (PS) Murree Malik Rafaqat to know their versions proved futile as both did not attend their cell phones.
On the other hand, scores of residents of Gehel staged a protest demo against police and the minister for implicating them in a case. They said it was a politically motivated case since none of the protestors was carrying a weapon. They appealed to Chief Justice of Pakistan to take suo-moto notice of the incident.