Police on Wednesday confirmed they have registered a case after the Clifton Board Cantonment (CBC) officials accused protesters of vandalism and issuing threats during a demonstration last Monday over non-provision of amenities in the aftermath of August’s torrential rains. Officials at the Darakhshan police station said the first information report (FIR) includes charges of rioting and threatening, among others. The CBC officials had earlier approached police with a request to book more than a dozen individuals for attempting to enter their office, smashing windows, and vandalising property during Monday’s protest. The nearly 30 unidentified protesters also issued threats, they had claimed. Police sources had earlier said they had received the CBC officials’ request to register a case, noting that they were recording statements in this regard. Protesters had gathered outside the CBC office on Monday to voice their anger over the non-provision of basic amenities following the torrential August rains but their negotiations with the authorities had failed, according to a representative of the residents’ committee. Speaking to the crowd gathered outside the CBC office, the woman representing the protesters told them the officials had not agreed to signing the demands on the board’s letterhead. Consequently, the demonstrators dispersed from the site, vowing to return and protest outside the Defence Housing Authority’s (DHA) office on Thursday. They did, however, manage to present their demands to the CBC office-bearers but the protesters’ representative lamented that the concerned citizens had not been made part of the negotiations.
