Textile mill accuses Railway police of occupying its storage area

KARACHI: The Gul Ahmed Textile Mills Limited administration alleged on Friday that the armed personnel of the Railway police entered the cotton storage area of the mill on January 3 at about 1:30am (night) and occupied it illegally.

A press release issued by the mill administration charged the Railway police with baton-charging the factory workers and firing shots into the air to frighten them. Many factory workers were injured due to the police action.

The factory administration requested the Sindh governor and the Railways minister to issue orders for returning the cotton storage area to the factory and resuming the production process and leaving the dispute to the court to give its verdict on it.

The press release said Gul Ahmed Textile Mills (GATM) Limited, incorporated on April 1, 1953 in Pakistan as a private limited company and subsequently converted into a public limited company on January 7, 1955, is listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange Limited. It said the GATM had purchased the land, bearing Survey Number (48, 49, 50 and 51) in Deh Khanto, measuring 43 acres, obtained in year 2003 vide two conveyance deeds.

The previous owners’ request for demarcation of the aforesaid land was carried out by the Revenue authorities in the presence of all parties concerned including a representative of the Pakistan Railways, added the press release.

After a series of litigation, the matter attained finality vide Judgment Dated 27-5-2002, passed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, a formal sale agreement dated 31-1-2003 was executed between the lawful owners and the GATM, it added. Subsequently, the entire land comprising Survey No 48, 49, 50 and 51 Deh Khanto Bin Qasim Town was purchased by the GATM.

All relevant documents including conveyance deeds, Fresh Form VII were in the favour of the GATM and the factory was in lawful possession of the land compounded with boundary wall and being used for storage of cotton, from where the commodity was supplied to all units of the GATM, explained the release.

The press release said the GATM was in possession of all legal documents including a judgment given in suit No. 248 of 1994, passed by 1SCJ Karachi (East) on 9-8-1994; another judgment of CA No 7 of 1996, passed by 5th ADJ Karachi (East) dated 24-2-1998; another judgment in Civil Revision 232 of 1998, passed by the Sindh High Court on 25-5-2001; yet another judgment of CPLA 2196 of 2001, passed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on 27-5-2002; demarcation letter issued on 12-12-2002 and two registered conveyance deeds between previous owners and the GATM.

The release said that the SC Judgment attained the finality between the previous owners and the Pakistan Railways, which had never been rebutted in the past 18 years.

The GATM said that prior to entering its premises, no notice or intimation was given by the Pakistan Railway Police. However, on Sunday, a holiday, around 30 to 40 armed personnel of the Pakistan Railway police unlawfully trespassed onto its premises after midnight and created a hostile environment. The release said the factory was not creating any hurdle on the Pakistan Railways track, which was at a fair distance from the boundary wall. However, Pakistan Railways was not only forcibly trying to occupy the factory land but it also unlawfully stopped the movement of its raw materials to the rest of units. That had severely impacted the factory operations, causing loss of revenue. The administration said the hindrances would lead to unemployment and ultimately factory closures and reputational damage to the GATM and Pakistan.

The press release said a suit, bearing No 23 of 2021 Gul Ahmed Textile Mills Limited versus Federation of Pakistan (through the Ministry of Railways) was filed before the Sindh High Court, which was fixed for hearing on January 8, 2021 where a false statement was submitted by the Pakistan Railways that they had taken possession on Jan 3, 2021.

However, the claim was disputed by GATM. It is on record at the court. The case was set for hearing on Jan 11. But the Railway Police once again forcibly trespassed on the factory premises on Jan 8, 2021, threatening the security with guns. All that was done to make its false statement true before the court, added the GATM statement. Because of police baton-charge, half a dozen of the factory employees had to be hospitalized, said the release. Dozens of employees were injured, who managed to limp away after the incident on Friday, it added.

Responding to the allegations, the Railways spokesperson said 42 acres land of the Railways in Juma Goth was retrieved five days ago. However, he said, hundreds of armed workers of a famous textile mill, along with police, again attempted to reoccupy the Railways land on Friday, but the attempt was foiled by the department police. The spokesman said the Railways police also sought help from Rangers to foil the attempt to occupy the land.

About the incident, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Malir District President Ajaz Khan said direct shots were fired at people in the area. He said even his vehicle was also hit by shells. He said it was gundagardi, which would not be allowed at any cost. He said people were beaten up and shots were fired on unarmed people. He said he would talk to the party leadership in that regard and action would be taken against those who indulged in such high-handedness. He said even people’s mobile-phones and cameras were snatched who were filming that "gundagardi".