- Rowdy blackcoats storm city’s police chief’s office after colleagues were charged under anti-terror law
- Injure at least three police officials, close down a nearby market as law enforcement officials avoid confrontation
- Police say will book lawyers for damaging public, private property
FAISALABAD: A mob of lawyers stormed the Central Police Office in Faisalabad on Monday after the police refused to quash an FIR [First Information Report] registered against their colleagues under terrorism charges.
On Sunday, police booked at least 30 lawyers for assaulting a police officer and his staff on a court premises when they reached there to produce a suspect—a brother of a lawyer— before a judge.
Things took an ugly turn on Monday when police refused to withdraw the case against the lawyers, upon which the lawyers turned violent and ransacked the police office after holding a protest at Committee Chowk and shutting down a nearby market. During the assault, at least three police officials deployed outside the office were injured while others ran for their lives.
According to police spokesperson of Faisalabad police, suspect Shahid, brother of Advocate Arshad, was booked under Section 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust) on April 25 in a case involving Rs2 million.
He further said that the lawyers had attacked the policemen accompanying him and not only they hurled life threats at the cops but also tore their uniform, snatched cash, ID cards, service cards and other valuables besides detaining them. Subsequently, the police booked these lawyers for terrorising the litigants and others present on the court premises.
“Now more cases will be filed against the agitating lawyers for attacking police and public properties,” said the spokesperson.
However, the district bar president of Faisalabad rejected these allegations, saying police arrested Shahid without any justification and that the police misbehaved with lawyers, not vice versa.
He categorically denied charges of kidnapping or unlawfully detaining the policemen and added they were protesting against ‘unjustified’ FIR against them.