SAHIWA L: Up to 50 Food Department officials stopped working at 21 wheat procurement centres of the Sahiwal district on Saturday after three of their colleagues were bool(ed by the AntiCorruption Establishment (ACE). On the intervention of Commissioner Babar Hayat Tarar, they resumed work.

The ACE had registered a case against three Bahadur Shah wheat procurement centre officials -Assistant Food Controller (AFC) Rai Mushtaq, Supervisor Kamran Sadiq and watchman Allah Yar -on Friday. This provoked the Field Staff Union to call strike and soon officials stopped working at 21 centres on Saturday morning.

A seven-member union delegation, led by AFC Muhammad Azhar, met the commissioner who assured them an impartial inquiry into the case.

Mr Azhar told Dawn after the meeting, they had decided to call off the strike.

Sahiwal will buy 197,000 metric tonwheat in the ongoing drive.

Earlier, the ACE had got complaints that centre in charge Mushtaq with the two other staff members, would deduct 10 to 20 kilo wheat from each 50kg bag on one pretext or another.

ACE circle head Ghazanfar Tufail said they had arrested Kamran and Allah Yar while Rai escaped.

TWO DEATHS: A youth was allegedly burnt alive while a married woman died of poison consumption in Sahiwal, and both deaths were declared acts of suicide.

Nazir Ahmed, 25, of village 120/9-L, burnt himself after exchanging words with his family. Neighbours said he would be taunted for his unemployment by his family.

He was shifted to the Sahiwal District Headquarters Teaching Hospital where he died after seven hours treatment. The hospital has no burn unit.

In another incident, Iram, of Harrapa, was reported to taking poisonous pills after exchanging words with her mother-in-law. She died at the Sahiwal DHQ hospital.