BAHAWALNAGAR: The Minchinabad police booked 21 farmers allegedly over a protest against overcharging on urea, discrimination in its distribution and trying to snatch bags from a dealer at Ghala Mandi, alleging that the fertiliser was being distributed only to those who bribed the officials or had political contacts.

The first information report (FIR) alleges that the farmers had thrashed the revenue and agriculture officials and a fertiliser dealer, robbed cash from him and obstructed the government functionaries during the distribution of urea bags.

On Wednesday, the enraged farmers reportedly rushed to get the urea bags by breaking the queues when they noticed that urea bags were being given to some specific group of people. They said they had been forced to buy urea in the black market at Rs2,700 per bag.

While talking to Dawn, the farmers alleged that Minchinabad Assistant Director Agriculture (ADA) Maqsood Ahmad, instead of distributing bags among the farmers, was involved in facilitating his touts to get hundreds of bags and selling them in the black market. Some dealers, while requesting anonymity, also leveled the same allegations against the ADA and other revenue officials.

FIR alleges farmers thrashed officials, robbed dealer

A farmer, in his video statement, said he had received a receipt for buying seven urea bags from the revenue department on Dec 8, 2021; however, he was yet to receive even a single bag.

Another farmer, Saddam Husain, said that on Jan 7, ADA Ahmad first removed him from his office when he lodged a complaint against a fertiliser dealer who was selling urea at Rs2,550 per bag and the ADA took action against the shopkeeper when his (Saddam’s) video recorded at the courtyard of the ADA office went viral.

Kisan Ittehad district president Saleem Khan alleged that the administration was not ready to listen to the farmers and the urea was being supplied to the touts of the politicians by the revenue and agriculture officials instead of their distribution among the common farmers.

The FIR said the urea bags were being distributed among the farmers at the warehouse of a fertilizer dealer, Muhammad Saleem Tahir, at Ghalla Mandi on Wednesday evening when the incident happened.

A mob, including Fakhar, Nadim Ahmad, Muhammad Ahmad, Nadeem Mahar, Talib along with 16 others, attacked the warehouse and thrashed Muhammad Saleem Tahir and the revenue, agriculture and Tiger Force officials. It said the mob also robbed Rs0.4m from Saleem.

The FIR said the attackers were identified by the video clips, which were being shot by the media. The case was lodged under sections of the PPC on complaint of Assistant Commissioner Ahmad Javed Cheema, in which he demanded registration of a case under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).

The ADA Minchinabad said he was neither involved in buying or selling urea bags nor had he issued any threats against any fertiliser dealer. Regarding complaints of the farmers, he said an FIR was registered on the complaint of Saddam Hussain (the farmer) as soon as he (AC) received a complaint.

AC Cheema ignored calls and text messages of the scribe.

Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2022