Court orders FIRs against three food officials

SUKKUR: While protests by wheat growers continue in various parts of Sindh against non-supply of gunny bags (bardana), the court of first additional sessions judge of Ghotki has ordered Khanpur Mahar and Ghotki police to register FIRs against three food officials.

The order to book food inspectors posted at Khanpur Mahar, Sardargarh, Sajwal Mahar and Rani Har was issued on separate applications filed by aggrieved wheat growers on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, growers in the lead of Hanif Gabol, Ghulam Mustafa Sial, Gul Hassan Banglani and others also recorded their protest at the press club of Khanpur Mahar taluka.

They told reporters that the food inspector of Khanpur Mahar, Muzafar Chachar, and his counterparts posted at other centres had sold out gunny bags to traders and distributed bardana among influential Waderas.

They said genuine peasants were being deprived of gunny bags while influential people and their favourites were being provided the facility, which was injustice.

The elected public representatives were not ready to listen to their complaints and suggest remedy of their genuine grievances, therefore, they were compelled to sell their wheat at lower rates.

The protesting growers on the occasion alleged that Muzafar Chachar had sold 7,000 gunny bags for Rs700,000 to three traders of Khanpur Mahar on Monday night. The leader of abadgars, Muhammad Amin Sial, had filed a petition against Muzaffar in the court of first additional session judge of Ghotki against non-supply of gunny bags and for insulting and torturing him.

On the applications of two other abadgars of Ghotki, including Ghulam Nabi Kolachi and Jamal Din Manak, the court issued directives to the SHO of Ghotki for registration of separate cases against food inspector of Ghotki Dildar Kalhoro and former district food controller Asghar Shah.

After such action from the court, an unrest was prevailing among officials of the food department.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2015

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