BAHAWALNAGAR: Some 30 people were left injured and 70 allegedly picked as a result of a clash between farmers and police on Monday in the aftermath of a police party ‘taken hostage and subjected to torture’ by tubewell power bills defaulters on Sunday night.

According to police, a Marot police party led by Fort Abbas DSP Abid Warraich raided the house of Kisan Ettehad divisional president Amir Wattoo and other tubewells power bills defaulters of Chak 241-HR on Sunday night.

The police said to avoid arrest, Amir Wattoo, using his clout as a farmers’ leader, made announcements from the village mosque, inciting locals to putting up violent resistance to police. As a result, a mob took hostage the raiding team, snatched weapons and subjected the policemen to torture. The mob also snatched five official vehicles from police.

On Monday, a large contingent of policemen from Faisalabad, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan and Vehari districts was called to the village for an operation against bill defaulters.

Police of five dists launched ‘operation’ after tubewell bills defaulters ‘attacked a raiding team’

According to farmers’ representatives, the police resorted to brutal torture of locals and in some cases also looted cash and valuables from their houses.

Kisan Ettehad central spokesperson Sajjad Husain Nazish said: “Police forcibly entered the houses of farmers and subjected children, women and elderly people to torture.”

He also alleged the police also set ablaze the house of Amir Wattoo.

Some locals seeking anonymity alleged policemen snatched ornaments and other valuables from villagers.

A local shopkeeper, Yousaf, son of Mehar Din, was deprived of Rs0.45 million by police.

Farmers alleged as many as 30 villagers were injured in the clash with police.

During the violence, the car of a local journalist, Saleem Zahid, was allegedly damaged by police when he was covering the incident. The police also snatched camera from the reporter and returned it to him after removing its memory card that contained a footage of ‘police brutality’.

PROTEST: Scores of farmers belonging to Kisan Ettehad staged a protest demonstration at River Sutlej bridge and blocked it for traffic to protest police ‘highhandedness’.

The blockade continued for several hours. Finally the police dispersed the protesters and restored the traffic.

Police were conducting raids for the arrest of those involved in violence.

Farmers claimed the Sunday night raid was actually aimed at picking their leaders to bar them from joining a protest in Lahore scheduled for Monday.

Meanwhile, farmers claimed some 70 locals were picked by police. However, police sources confirmed some 30 arrests.

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2014