Islamabad : The Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration, while assisting the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to remove encroachments from Banni Gala apparently unnecessarily used brutal force to demolish ‘Marquee’ on the banks of Rawal Lake.
The local people told ‘The News’ that they are the legal owners of the land in Banni Gala and had erected this marquee in accordance with the law for quite a few years. They bitterly condemned the action by the ICT administration and the CDA as well as the unparalleled use of brutal force against poor villagers who stood up against the operation to protect their property.
An administrative officer when asked about the ruthless operation against the people of the village and booked the locals under 13 criminal offenses including terrorism act, proudly said, “We showed our power to maintain writ of the government”. But the officer could not respond, why the law enforcement agencies and the administration absolutely ignored the havoc incident of attack on a restaurant in Jinnah Super Market in broad daylight last days, in which over 60 evaders including 30 gunmen from Baluchistan, when the police remained silent spectators during the open gun shooting by the attackers.
They alleged that the ICT administration and the CDA were assisted by a heavy contingent of Islamabad Police who opened fire on the protesting villagers, resulting in grave injuries to many persons. They said that so much force was used by the ICT administration and the CDA that the local villagers were unable to resist them any longer and they managed to damage the marquee beyond repairs, inflicting loss of millions of rupees to the owners.
On the other hand, after the operation, the CDA, through one of its Assistant Director, filed a ‘First Information Report’ (FIR) against a number of villagers including Zaheer Abbasi, Jameel Abbasi, Adeel Abbasi, Tariq Abbasi, Nadeem Abbasi, Waqar Abbasi, Allah Ditta Abbasi, Khushall Khan Abbasi, Muhsan Ali Abbasi and another unnamed 150 persons for resisting and attacking the ICT and CDA teams.
The CDA in the FIR, through its Assistant Director, stated Jameel Abbasi and his other brothers have illegally erected a wedding hall by the name of ‘Rawal Marquee’ in village Lakhwal in Banni Gala area.
“After the legal proceedings the case was decided by the court of law in favour of the CDA following which an operation was planned to demolish the illegal structure. When the CDA team, accompanied with the Assistant Commissioner Secretariat along with the police and law enforcing agencies contingent reached near government school in Lakhwal village they were attacked by the above mentioned people along with over a hundred other villagers who were carrying fire arms, batons and sticks.
“They closed the road by burning tires and were also carrying bottles filled with patrol. They started pelting stones at the CDA and the ICT team and later resorted to direct firing on the government contingent that has gone there for the operation.
“One of the sons of Jameel Abbasi got hold of Assistant Sub-Inspector Akhlaq while Jameel Abbasi hit the ASI in the head with the pistol butt that he was carrying. The other son hit him with a baton on the hand as a result of which the fingers in the right of the ASI were broken. Similarly, Constables Hasham Hussain, Faizul Hassan, Tauseef Ahmed and other police officials also received injuries. They also damaged the official vehicles,” the CDA’s Assistant Director wrote in his complaint for registering the FIR. The Banni Gala Police has registered a case under sections 324/355/186/427/341/336/511/447/506ii/337Hii/148/149 PPC as well as 7ATA and have started investigations.