BAHAWALNAGAR: Faqirwali police claimed on Monday to have arrested a local landlord for allegedly humiliating a labourer on suspicion of theft.

The arrested landlord was among the three involved in the incident.

The FIR registered with Faqirwali police on Sunday said Nazar, Sanaullah and Feroz of 429/6R detained Atta of 199/8R, a labourer by profession, while accusing him of stealing their money. After slapping and thrashing the victim, the men shaved his head, it added.

It went on to say that after hearing hue and cry of the victim, passers-by rescued him from the custody of the suspects. The FIR, however, did not mention that the men also recorded the video of the incident and uploaded it on social media.

Police sources told Dawn that no one rescued the labourer but after humiliating and abusing the poor man, the men called on 15 and handed him over to the police while declaring him a thief. The police instead of arresting the suspects sent Atta behind the bars.

According to the sources, Faqirwali police were going to fix the victim in a theft case when the video of the incident went viral on social media and the police had to register a case against the perpetrators.

Faqirwali Station House Officer Faryad Hussain Joiya was not available for comments. DPO’s spokesperson Zahid Rasool said raids were being conducted to arrest the remaining men who could be seen in the viral video of shaving the head of the victim.

ELECTROCUTED: Two teenaged cousins were electrocuted in a rain-related incident in Maroot here on Sunday evening.

Police said Muhammad Hamza (13) and Sunny (15) of Zia Colony entered a local mosque and accidentally touched an iron pole installed in the courtyard and suffered a massive electric shock. The duo suffered serious burns and were rushed to the local hospital where they were pronounced dead.

According to locals, the iron pole installed in the courtyard of the mosque had electric current due to some fault in the wiring and rainwater which caused the instant death of the boys.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2024