OKARA: Two people were killed and a woman was injured on Saturday in village 23/1AL over a love marriage issue, the police said. Up to 28 people, 23 nominated, stormed the house of Baqir Ali and the local government girls primary school where they held hostage headmistress Rukhsana, wife of Baqir, and later shot at and injured her.

Complainant Javed Ghazi says his cousins Ahmad Shahzad and Javed Hasan, in right of self defence, opened fire.

Two of the attackers - Zafar Ali and Muhammad Hussain - received bullets, fired by their accomplices. Hussain died at the scene while Rescue 1122 shifted Zafar and Rukhsana to hospital where Zafar also succumbed to his injuries, while Rukhsana was referred to Lahore in critical condition.

The police arrived at the site after a call to Rescue 15. The dispute erupted as a result of Rukhsana’s son Bahawal Sher’s love marriage to Ammara, the daughter of Muhammad Ahmad, one of the 23 identified attackers in the FIR.

The suspects had kidnapped Ammara’s father-in-law, Baqir, a few weeks ago. City Renala police registered a kidnapping case. The suspects were released on pre-arrest bail. On the other side, Baqir’s rivals, including Muhammad Ahmad, Fahad, Khizar Bashir, Saadi Ahmad, Irfan, Liaqat, Nawaz, Saad, Ashraf Baloch, Husnain Qasim, Tariq, Arif, Murtaza, Sabir, Imran, Abdullah, Haji, and Umair attacked his house.

They were booked under sections 302, 324, 365, 511, 148 and 149 of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Shergarh police on the report of Baqir’s nephew Javed Ghazi. The assailants left their three motorcycles back at the scene, which were impounded by the area police.

Published in Dawn, February 13th, 2023