Groom’s father, farmhouse employee arrested for holding Valima

The father of a bridegroom and a farm house employee were arrested in the late hours of Thursday as the law enforcement agencies (LEAs) in Karachi continued the crackdown on those flouting the government's Sindh-wide ban on public gatherings to control the spread of COVID-19.

According to police, a farmhouse was raided on a tip-off in the Gulshan-e-Maymar area late on Thursday night where a Valima reception had been arranged. Police arrested the groom’s father and an employee of the farmhouse during the raid.

District Malir SSP Ali Raza said the Valima reception was going on at the farmhouse in clear violation of the government’s ban on public gatherings. He added that a case had been registered against the suspects under the Section 188 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Shop owners held

The Korangi division police arrested a hair dresser shop owner and a tea shop owner on Friday for violating the ban imposed by the Sindh government on the closure of business activities for 15 days across the province.

The Zaman Town police raided a tea shop, the Quetta Abdur Rehman Hotel, located near the Coast Guard Chowrangi where a large number of people were having tea and other food items. The owner of the hotel, Abdul Wahab, was arrested during the raid and an FIR was registered against him.

The Korangi Industrial Area police conducted a raid at a barber shop in the Mehran Chowk area and arrested the owner, Iqbal. A case of registered against him under the Section 188 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Profiteers arrested

The Kharadar police in separate raids in the Old City area arrested four suspects and seized 306 bottles of sanitisers from their possession. The police said the suspects were selling sanitisers at higher rates. The arrested men were identified as Suleman, Faizan, Farooq and Anwar. Cases were registered against them and investigations are under way.