Karachi Electric Supply Company has shifted away its operations and maintenance services from BOC Shamsi, Shah Faisal Colony, following a series of attacks and threats from unruly mobsters made it impossible for the employees to function. BOC Shamsi has temporarily been closed after an incident of captivity of a maintenance team at the hands of mobsters.
Latest incident of the string occurred late night a few days ago when a group of drunken armed hooligans took a field staff team of KESC as hostage on gunpoint and physically tortured them after querying their ethnic background. Karkun Naveed Tariq was badly injured as a result while Lineman M Akbar, Karkun Niaz and PTN driver Asad also received injuries. The attackers snatched safety gear and helmets of the team members. The hostages and their belongings were later recovered with the help of local notables.
The staff of BOC Shamsi would temporarily operate from nearby offices of the utility till a new office is established at a safer location. There have been several incidents of attacks and threats at BOC Shamsi in the recent past, most important being senseless firing in front of the office on June 26 in which a PTN driver Aman Baloch was killed and lineman Nasir Abbas was badly hurt.
KESC said that such incidents were evident of the fact that local authorities and law enforcement agencies needed to ensure and take action for provision of adequate security to the utility's employees and assets. KESC demanded of the government to take immediate action to pre-empt such incidents which can create a hindrance in the repair and maintenance work and even the smooth supply of electricity in the City and ensure provision of security to KESC installations and personnel who are on work in sensitive areas of the metropolis.-PR