MCR officials once again defy court order

Rawalpindi : The officials of Municipal Corporation Rawalpindi (MCR) once again defied stay order granted by a civil court by demolishing legal structures of shops at Banni Chowk and warned the shop owners not obstruct them from operation as they did not accept that court document.

The shopkeepers of Banni shops showed them attested copies of the stay order of the court, but they did not pay any heed towards it and in rage threatened shopkeepers to get away from their operation and misbehaved with protesting shopkeepers. The resistance by shopkeepers did not work as the MCR officials including Inspectors Fiaz, Tayyab, Zaka Shah and Fakhar directed their subordinate workers to immediately demolish roof of the shops without producing any court or legal document which authorised them to raze the shops. They had already demolished so-called verandas of the shops which was part of shops declared by civil judge in 2001 verdict issued against Municipal Corporation.

The MCR officials kept talking on their mobile phones during operation and reported other persons on the phone about each and every illegal action with commentary. They damaged the roof of shops and threw down big signboard installed on four shops on the road.

The shopkeepers approached Banni Police Station and showed them stay order of the court and informed them about the highhandedness of the MCR officials with them. The SHO sent a police party who brought the MCR officials and shopkeepers to his office. The SHO restrained them for carrying out further illegal action after showing them stay order of the court as the MCR officials failed to produce any paper which could show their authority to demolish any structure of the these shops. The hearing of the case is fixed for February 20 with stay order.