Relatives of a man who committed suicide accused the Levies personnel on Monday of extorting money from the deceased on a routine basis. Addressing a press conference at Bajaur Press Club, his brother Gohar and his uncle Khalil alleged that one Sobedar Niamat and his staff were responsible for forcing Ali to commit suicide. Trade union president Laali Shah, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) local leaders Nek Rehman, Fazal Manan and Aitebar Muhammad also accompanied the aggrieved relatives. They said Ali used to sell Kher on a pushcart at the Khar bazaar where the levies personnel routinely visited him and demanded Rs.1,000 as extortion money every month. They demanded of the Political Agent Amir Khattak and Commandant Bajaur Scouts Col. Nayyar Zaman to remove the Sobedar and his staff from the service. The upset relatives warned the political administration of staging a sit in outside Governor House in Peshawar if their demand was not met. They also announced that they would continue their protest unless justice was served. On the other hand, political tehsildar in Khar Abdul Haseeb denied the allegations and said that Ali was not present at the stall the day he committed suicide. He added that it seemed Ali committed suicide due to a family dispute. However, he said the political administration had started an investigation into the suicide case to probe the matter. Expressing grief over the sad incident, PTI Bajaur Agency leader Nawabzada Jalaluddin Khan ordered the political administration to conduct a clear and transparent probe of the incident. He also asked the political administration to deploy people-friendly Levies personnel in the agency’s markets and bazaars. The PTI leader warned he would join the protest if the political administration failed to carry out a fair and transparent probe of the incident.
