TOBA TEK SINGH: The Gojra Saddar police have registered a case under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act against 113 members of a gypsy tribe from Chak 427-JB, Musalmanian.

They are accused of holding hostage and torturing 12 members of an Anti-Narcotics Force team led by Assistant Director Salman Hundal during a raid to recover narcotics.

The complainant, ANF Inspector Muhammad Zubair from Faisalabad, stated in the FIR that 11 named people, led by Ghulam Rasool Phandi, along with 100 accomplices, including 30 women, tore the uniforms of the team members and snatched their weapons and wireless sets.

Several of the suspects have been arrested, and the weapons and wireless sets have been recovered.

Probe: The regional election commissioner of Multan, heading an inquiry team formed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to investigate the alleged embezzlement of Rs5.6 million, has issued directives to Toba District Election Commissioner (DEC) Muhammad Toseef Qadir. The case involves former DEC.

Tauseef Qadir wrote to the chief executive officer of the Toba District Education Authority, instructing him not to issue a no objection certificate for going abroad to a clerk and a teacher, who were allegedly involved in the embezzlement.

According to the letter, the embezzled amount was released by the ECP to provide honorarium to 5,666 teachers who had undergone training in May 2023 for the Feb 8 election duty. However, instead of distributing the funds to the teachers, the suspects allegedly invested the money in a private firm.

RELEASED: Two Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) activists from Toba were released on Tuesday from district jail.

Babar Javed Chaudhry from Gojra and Dr Mirza Naseer Ahmad from Rajana Chak 285-GB were arrested under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order during a crackdown on PTI activists ahead of the protest demonstration at Islamabad’s D-Chowk.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2024