DADU ,January 19,2005:A woman living in a village near the Zamzama oil and gas field of the BHP Billiton has said that in response to pleas made by senior officers of the company and the Qasim Rangers , she has forgiven a law-enforcement agency official who maltreated her in her house two days ago.

Amnat Panhwar told this correspondent in her Khush Mohammad Panhwar village on January 18 that the official had barged into her house and tried to take away a girl two days ago. When she resisted, he beat her up, she added.

When she started screaming, women from the neighbourhood and some villagers came to her help, got hold of the official and handed him over to police at the Chandan check post from where he was taken to the Johi police station.

According to her, she went to the police station to lodge a complaint, but senior security officers of the BHP and Rangers arrived there, apologized to her and said stern action would be taken against the accused. The following day, she said, a team of senior officials of the Qasim Rangers, Hyderabad, led by Colonel Basharat, came to her house and tendered apology.

According to an eye witness account, three law-enforcement officials had come to the house of Ms Panhwar, one entered the house and two remained outside. However, when the official, who entered the house, was captured, his accomplices escaped.

DPO Javed Alam Odho said that police were ready to register an FIR against the official but Ms Amnat had withdrawn her complaint. He said that the officials on duty in the vicinity of the oil and gas field were not allowed to carry out patrolling, but the accused had gone outside the field’s jurisdiction without permission of his seniors.
Source: Dawn
Date:1/19/2005