KARACHI: Three polio workers, including two women, suffered serious injuries when they were attacked by members of a “tribal” family with “hammers and shovels” when the volunteers accompanied by police visited their home in a Korangi slum to administer the vaccine to their children on Friday, police said

They said that the family, originally hailed from Mohmand Tribal District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, did not want their children to be vaccinated against the crippling disease and when policemen accompanying the polio team tried to save them the suspect attacked them and torn their uniform..

Six members of a family, including four women, were arrested and a case was registered against them, the police added.

Police say suspects, originally hail from Mohmand Tribal District, used hammers and shovels to badly hurt polio workers who wanted to vaccinate their children

The police said that the incident occurred when the family living near the Rangers Ground in Korangi, refused vaccination to their children during the ongoing anti-polio drive.

The women and men attacked the polio workers and policemen with hammers and shovels and tore their clothes before arrival of contingents of law enforcers to control the situation, the police said.

“The family put up fierce resistance to polio drops and even pelted policemen with stones,” said a police statement.

A contingent of police and Rangers personnel rushed to the spot and controlled the situation and detained four women and two young men, who were taken to a police station.

The held suspects were identified as Samina Khan, Mahjabeen Suleman, Amna Gul, Iqra Khan and men were identified as Gul Khan and Sufiyan.

The injured polio workers were taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) for treatment.

Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed said that two lady polio workers, aged 25 and 29, received treatment in the medico-legal clinic at the JPMC. They have suffered multiple injuries caused by a blunt instrument. She said their wounds were “not minor”.

She added that a male health worker, aged 29, was also brought to the JPMC. He had also sustained multiple injuries on his face, shoulder, etc.

The Korangi police have registered a case against the held suspects on behalf of the state under Sections 147 (rioting), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

According to the FIR, Head Constable Munib Qaiser said that he and other policemen accompanied a polio team in Korangi. As they arrived at a home in Korangi-2, Sector-20, the family misbehaved with the polio team. When the polio workers insisted that administering polio drops to children was ‘imperative’, the women became furious and attacked the team.

In the meantime, two men from the home also came out. They were ‘armed’ and started beating the polio workers. The complainant said he and other policemen tried to save the polio team, but the suspects also attacked them. Their police uniforms were also torn, he added.

As per the FIR, during the attack, four-five other people, who appeared to be ‘Pakhtun’, also arrived there, and attacked them.

The complainant said after “significant struggle”, they managed to detain four women and two men while others managed to escape.

Two shovels have also been recovered from the possession of the held suspects, according to Korangi-SSP Kamran Khan.

Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah took notice of the incident and directed all deputy commissioners to ‘review’ security for polio workers.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2024