Two Railway policemen injured in drive against encroachments

A Pakistan Railways deputy superintendent of police (DSP) and station house officer (SHO) were injured on Friday after protesters pelted them with stones during an anti-encroachment drive on land of the Pakistan Railways in the Bhains Colony area.

Police said the clash between an anti-encroachment team and residents took place when the team reached the illegally occupied land near Bhains Colony within the limits of the Shah Latif police station. 

A score of residents of the area gathered and held a protest against the anti-encroachment drive, upon which the railway police resorted to aerial firing to disperse the protesters who also attacked the anti-encroachment team with stones, injuring Railway DSP Wazir Ali and Landhi Railway police station SHO sub-inspector Abdur Razzak.

The protesters then staged a sit-in near the Bhains Colony railway crossing and blocked the flow of traffic. A contingent of law enforcers also reached the protest site to defuse the tension.

According to Shah Latif SHO Rana Maqsood, the police with heavy machinery tried to demolish some newly constructed illegal houses on the Railways’ land. He said after demolishing one of the houses, the police came under attack while they were trying to demolish another house, resulting in injuries to the DSP and SHO.

SHO Maqsood said that the protesters attempted to stop the railway police from demolishing their houses demanding that action should be taken across the board instead of targeting and demolishing specific houses.

The officer added that though the protesters claimed that the railway police resorted to aerial firing that compelled the protesters to attack them with stones, the police, however, did not find any evidence such as an empty shell of a weapon that could verify that aerial firing had taken place.

The Shah Latif SHO said a case was being registered against the protesters for interfering in the government work, attacking and injuring railway police officials and disturbing the law and order situation. Further investigations are under way.