LAHORE — (The Thursday Times) Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has warned against the abuse of wealth and influence after police arrested a man accused of assaulting a petrol pump worker in Lahore who asked him not to smoke near the fuel dispensers.
The incident took place at a petrol station in Jubilee Town. According to the Lahore Police Operations Department, the dispute began when an attendant asked the man not to smoke near the dispensers, where a cigarette could pose a fire hazard. Video of the incident shows the man slapping the worker. Police said he also threatened the worker before fleeing in a luxury vehicle.
Traced through a rental receipt
Chung police traced the SUV, which had been rented, and its rental receipt led them to the suspect, identified by police as Idrees Bhatti. He was arrested in a targeted raid. Police alleged that he resisted officers during the arrest, and the DIG Operations said a weapon was recovered from his possession. A criminal case has been registered on the worker’s complaint.
“A tight slap in the face”
After the arrest, Maryam Nawaz shared a video on social media showing the worker slapping the suspect back inside a police station.
“This is a tight slap in the face of those entitled, spoiled brats who look down upon the poor as if they were lesser human beings,” she wrote. “They arrogantly believe that money and power put them above the law, allowing them to exploit, intimidate, and act with impunity.”
She said that as chief minister she stood “firmly with the oppressed, regardless of how powerful their oppressors may be,” and that no amount of wealth, influence or political connections should allow anyone to escape accountability.
“No one is above the law, and no victim should ever have to fight alone simply because the perpetrator has money or influence,” she added.
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