NAROWAL: A sub-divisional officer and four other employees of the Gujranwala Electric Power Company (Gepco) were manhandled and taken hostage when they detected power theft in a house at Bhoj Pur village of Shakargarh tehsil on Wednesday.

According to the complaint filed by SDO Muhammad Zubair with Shakargarh Sadar police, he along with his subordinates Asad Bhatti (lineman), Mohammad Zahid (assistant lineman), Ifthikhar Ahmad and Azher Mahmood, raided the house of Shah Mohammad at the village on a tip-off regarding power theft.

The SDO said the raiding team led by him detected the power theft and caught the suspects red handed. He said the Gepco team recovered 15 electricity meters and cables from the house. Meanwhile, he said, Union Council chairman Ahsan Siddique came there with 14 to 15 men armed with firearms and clubs and started thrashing the Gepco of ficials.

The armed men then locked the Gepco employees in a room of a nearby house and snatched the seized material from them. They threatened the officials with dire consequences if they raided the house again.

On being informed of the incident, a heavy contingent of police reached the spot and freed the Gepco employees who were taken to the local tehsil headquarters hospital where they were given treatment for their injuries.

The police have registered a case against the suspects on the complaint of the SDO under sections 149,148,353,365 and 462-1 of the PPC. None of the suspects could be arrested so far.

WOMAN HELD: Police on Wednesday arrested a woman for allegedly getting a fabricated kidnap case registered against her two stepsons.

Umer Hayat, a resident of Fatehpur Colony, filed a complaint with City Narowal police two months ago that his stepbrothers Shakil and Tariq allegedly kidnapped his mother Allah Rakhi in order to grab her property. He suspected that his mother might have been killed.

Police had registered a case and started investigation.

A team, led by SI Arshad Javed, investigated the matter and arrested Allah Rakhi at New Kutchery.

Javed claimed that the woman along with her sons had got afake case registered againsther stepsons.