Police subjected an Aaj News reporter to torture for covering the purportedly unlawful closure of a sugar mills in Tando Muhammad Khan, Aaj News reported.
Quoting unnamed sources, the channel said that two years ago an influential personality of Sindh had tried to take over the mills, but its owners refused to sell it. After his failure to acquire the mills, he had it closed down through the Sindh government on “flimsy” grounds. However, a few weeks ago, Sindh High Court asked the mill owners to reopen the mills. When they complied with the court’s orders, a heavy contingent of police in armoured vehicles along with private security guards rushed to the mills and restrained the labourers from entering it. When an Aaj News team reached there, police stopped it from carrying out the coverage of labourers’ protest against the seemingly unlawful closure of the mills. Police severely manhandled Aaj News reporter Muhammad Ansar and deprived him of his cell phone and camera. He was also detained before being released on the intervention of journalists’ bodies and civil society members.
Assistant General Manager of Seeri Sugar Mills Moinuddin told the news channel that a police team was sent to close down the sugar mills on the directives of Sindh government. He alleged that they were being subjected to injustice. He called for secuirty in view of threats to his mills. He claimed that an `influential political personality’ had sought mills’ closure.
