SAHIWAL: Dera Rahim police used baton charge to disperse dozens of students protesting the death of their colleague near Arifwala bypass on Sahiwal-Arifwala Road on Saturday noon.

The students blocked traffic for two hours after a bus ran over Kaleem, an 18-year-old student of the Government Technology College and a resident of Qaboola in Pakpattan.

Kaleem fell under the rear wheels of the bus after it suddenly moved while he was boarding, resulting in fatal injuries. Rescue 1122 found Kaleem dead at the spot.

Enraged fellow students stopped the bus, forced passengers to disembark, smashed its windows and doors and blocked the road by placing the body in the middle. They demanded the driver’s arrest and a ban on New Choudhary Bus Service, which they blamed for negligence.

The bus driver managed to flee, while Dera Rahim and Ghala Mandi police rushed to the scene to control the situation. Initially attempting to negotiate, police later resorted to baton charges to disperse the protesters.

The body was shifted to Sahiwal Teaching Hospital for autopsy, which was later handed over to the family. The police have impounded the bus.

HELD: Fateh Sher police arrested a Nadra security guard and a private photocopy shop owner for allegedly charging Rs1,000 from people to issue ‘tokens’ for early turns in the morning queue.

The arrests followed a complaint by Nadra Assistant DirectorImran Saddiq.

In a sting operation, police arrested Muhammad Ashiq and Shahzad, who admitted to facilitating early clearance in exchange for money.

Police also discovered special thumb markings used for prioritised processing at the token office.

Security guard Akhter Abbas and shop owner Allah Dita were booked under bribery charges, and a case was registered against them.

FRAUD: Acting on a Revenue Department report, Chichawatni andKasowalpolice arrested two people for fraud and extortion under the Ramadan Nighban Package at tehsil Chichawatni.

Raja Nisar, a bank retailer in Ada Iqbal Nagar, obtained thumb verifications from three beneficiaries — Ghulam Mustafa, Muhammad Hussain, and Sadiq Hussain — on Rs10,000 pay orders, falsely claiming their biometrics were unverified. He later withdrew Rs30,000 for himself.

In a separate case, shop owner Mubashir Latif was accused of deducting Rs500-700 per pay order from beneficiaries of the Ramazan package. Shahid Iqbal, Muhammad Mazhar and Gufttar Mughal lodged complaints with revenue authorities, which were found to be valid.

Following complaints by revenue officers Zafer Ali and Khalid Mahmood, police arrested both suspects.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2025