LAHORE – The entire Babu Sabu interchange locality turned into battlefield on Friday, shortly after protesting rickshaw drivers went on the rampage, thrashed policemen, and pelted the cops with stones.
More than 10 people including protesters and policemen sustained injuries and were rushed to nearby hospitals.
The police also reacted angrily, wielded to batons, and fired dozens of warning shots to disperse the auto-drivers, who visibly put armed policemen on defensive position.
Hundreds of poor rickshaw drivers were protesting against excessive traffic challans and huge fines being imposed on them by the traffic wardens in the City. They blocked the road in Babu Sabu area by setting the old tyres on fire.
The clash, which left many people injured from both the sides, erupted when one of the drivers climbed up a high-voltage electricity pole to protest against the traffic police highhandedness and excessive challans.
The Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) suspended power supply to three grid-stations for no less than four hours in the locality as many of the auto-drivers climbed up to the high-voltage pole to protest against the traffic police, threatening suicide.
The violent clash between the police and the protesters also created lawlessness like situation at the busy highway, which led to the worst traffic mess in the area as a great number of motorists remain trapped in the traffic jumble for several hours. The traffic mess on Bund Road also disrupted traffic flow in the adjoining vicinities while a pregnant woman remained trapped in the heavy traffic, a local TV claimed. The clashes continued for no less than six hours as the protesters and the police played hide and seek while attacking and assaulting each other.
Police sources claimed that a good number of rickshaw drivers gathered on Bund Road near Babu Sabu interchange and staged strong protest demonstration soon after a traffic police officer thrashed one of the drivers.
According to the protesters, the traffic wardens were imposing excessive challans on the poor auto-drivers even without any serious violation of the traffic rules.
“They (traffic wardens) are corrupt. Their bosses are corrupt. They have started collecting ‘monthly’ from us to pay their bosses,” Muhammad Aslam, one of the protesters told reporters at the site. He said that the City traffic police have launched a campaign against the auto-drivers to mint money.
However, police sources confirmed that the traffic wardens had been directed by the newly-appointed Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Sarfraz Falki to increase the ratio of challans manifold in order to collect revenue for the government.
According to the protesters, a traffic warden intercepted an auto-rickshaw driver, later identified as Muhammad Mazhar Khan, near Babu Sabu interchange on Bund Road on early Friday and issued him a challan ticket without any reason.
The traffic wardens also thrashed and punched the driver when he protested against the challan. Interestingly, as the driver climbed up a high-voltage electric pole and threatened suicide nine more rickshaw drivers followed him.
A good number of rickshaw drivers who witnessed the entire episode run out of patience, blocked the main road, and staged a strong protest demonstration against the traffic police.
Later, heavy police contingents reached the spot and tried to disperse the protesters but to no avail. As the helpless police wielded to batons and resorted to aerial firing, the auto-drivers also pelted the police with stones. Some local residents also started serial firing soon after the police gunfire hit the windowpanes of the houses.
The more police contingents were called in to the control the situation, the quicker auto-drivers poured in at the site from across the City to join protests.
In the meantime, senior police officers and local representatives including Special Assistant to Chief Minister Khawaja Imran Nazir, reached the spot and managed to disperse angry protesters after holding a series of negotiations with them.
The police high-ups suspended the Traffic Warden from service for assaulting the auto-driver while the top cops also assured the drivers that they would be provided justice.