No case has been registered after Friday’s angry protests in Muridke at which several policemen were injured.
| Muridke is Hafiz Saeed's hometown... |
Muridke police officers said they had not registered a case because nobody had lodged a complaint. They alleged that nazims Saeed Butt and Nadeem, who belong to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, had incited the demonstrators. Police said that earlier, unidentified men had stabbed three people including a woman and a child in Dow Kay village, an incident which had already raised tempers in the Muridke.
On Friday evening, hundreds of people blocked Grand Trunk Road to protest the murder of a child in Moazzam Colony and the release of a suspect by police. Muhammad Ramazan, 7, son of Muhammad Arif, was playing in front of his house on Friday morning when he was kidnapped. Ramazan’s family and a neighbour searched found his body in a nearby factory. He had been sexually assaulted before being stabbed. Later, people caught a suspect named Muhammad Qaiser of Rana Town in Ferozewala and handed him to the police. Muhammad Ilyas, a police official of the Muridke police station, released him.
| ... for one reason or another. It could even be they released him because he was innocent, I suppose. Though it's not likely... |
The protesters burnt tyres and shouted slogans against police. Police rushed to the spot and tried to disperse the protesters, who responded by throwing stones at them and their cars. Three officers and seven constables were injured. Later, at 10.15pm on Friday, Ferozewala Nazim Nasrullah and the Sheikhupura senior superintendent of police rushed to Muridke and assured the protesters that persons involved would be arrested within 24 hours. A Punjab government spokesman said that the culprits would be arrested soon and would be given exemplary punishment. The spokesman said that experienced police officers had been deputed to investigate the case. He said a few misguided elements had disturbed the peace in the area. |