Officers allegedly bashed pastor

 AN Apostolic Church pastor in Mulitaka, Nip Pelyo, suffered injuries and lost a substantial amount of money on Tuesday after he was allegedly attacked by five policemen at Maip checkpoint in Enga.

Pelyo was severely beaten and locked up but was out on bail yesterday, Wabag police confirmed.

Pelyo, who was driving a bus from Wabag with passengers, was chased by five armed policemen.

They claimed he had alcohol. 

When Pelyo stopped at Maip checkpoint, the policemen allegedly piled out of their blue 10-seater vehicle (Reg. HAO 224) and started to check the passengers for alcohol but they could find any evidence of it. 

The policemen then accused the driver of not complying with their instruction to stop at the first place and started to beat him.

Two soldiers and two policemen who provided security for COVEC Ltd, a construction company that was  upgrading the Porgera road, were at the scene. 

They allegedly joined the group and  bashed the pastor.

They then drove the bus, leaving all the passengers stranded, took Pelyo to Porgera, where they locked him. 

Enga provincial commander Philip Welyiea confirmed the incident on Tuesday.