–Tahir Saeed was arrested for allegedly hiding employee’s corona infection, allowing him to endanger lives of other people
Fashion retailer and designer Maria Butt, commonly known as Maria B., has come forward with another video to clear the controversy regarding her viral video regarding her husband Tahir Saeed’s arrest related to an alleged coronavirus case.
In the video, she thanked Prime Minister Imran and the Pakistan Army for intervening in the matter and for saving her trust in the country’s institutions. “I did not think someone would understand my pain,” she said.
Her husband, Tahir, then explained that the family was harassed by Punjab Police unnecessarily because of their own lack of knowledge. “The incident that happened yesterday was an outcome of pure panic and is plain harassment,” he said, adding that two dozen policemen had stormed their house in the dark of the night.
He said that the police created a ruckus at their home and tried to break in. When he went out to inquire about what had happened they simply asked for his CNIC card number and arrested him on confirmation that he was the person they had come for. In between asking for his details and taking him into custody, the police not only manhandled him but also misbehaved with his wife, Maria.
The couple clarified that they were not complaining about how they had been treated as “they were under no illusions of what the country’s police is like” and went into detail about how the whole incident was a result of miscommunication between government authorities.
The exposé detailed how it was the government’s failing that they had to deal with the stress of having an infected worker, and explained how institutions were not equipped for dealing with the pandemic.
They said that they had taken all preventive measures and ensured a relatively safe passage to home for their cook who was to follow strictly given instructions regarding quarantine after much deliberation by the family, on whether they should send him home or not.
“What else were we to do? Servants are not slaves. We have children at home too. We took the best decision we could after the authorities failed to handle the situation and left us no choice by leaving us in the dark.
The couple also showed Tahir’s test report declaring him free of coronavirus and added that the whole family had tested negative.
It is pertinent to mention here that Maria and Tahir revealed that the law enforcers who had come to arrest the designer’s husband were poorly equipped to handle an infection whereas many were simply in their usual attire with no form or protection or sanitary arrangements.
Earlier, in a viral video circulating on social media, the designer had said that the Punjab police raided her house at an untimely hour and arrested her husband without letting him call his lawyer.
She had appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan to take notice of the police raid at her house.
“Last night they raided my house as if I was the biggest drug mafia don in Lahore,” she said in the video.
“They (police) said to me, you are culprits,” she said in the video, adding that the raiding party also told her that an FIR has been registered against her husband and didn’t even let a lawyer come.
“They came at 12:30 am. Nobody was up, we tried calling so many people but nobody was up,” a teary eyed Maria said.
“How are we culprits when we are the ones whose tests may come out positive at any moment? We are the ones who are culprits” she said while conclusively asking, “Is this the system we have in Punjab?”.
On the other hand, multiple reports circulating on social media stated that the issue began with the family deciding to send off a cook working at their house after he tested positive for coronavirus.
The couple sent the domestic staffer to his village in Vihari via public transport and did not inform the doctors or alert the authorities. According to some social media claims, the cook changed two buses to reach his village, thus endangering many others who may now become indirect transmitters of the virus.
Further, speaking to a local media outlet, Lahore police said that the owner of the popular brand was arrested by the Nishtar colony Police for sending his infected cook away, amidst the pandemic.
“He conducted the COVID-19 test for his cook Omer Farooz, from a private laboratory after his health deteriorated and the test came out positive. Instead of informing the concerned authorities, Saeed sent Farooq to his native city on a public bus,” they said, adding that the cook interacted with fellow passengers and then met family at his home.
Following this, the authorities contacted Saeed in view of the data available from the laboratory and he informed them that Farooq had already gone to his village. The health authorities, with of the police then took Farooq into custody and transferred him to the isolation ward. After the investigation, Saeed was also arrested.
The latter is accused of hiding his employee’s deadly disease and letting him go to civilians and endangering the lives of the rest.
The Lahore police in a statement said, “Saeed after knowing that his chef was corona positive sent his employee to his village through local transport, which is a big crime. Hiding a corona patient is no small deal in times of global crises and we will ensure that all such acts are also duly followed up.”
