GUJRAT: Timely action of uploading the name of a murder suspect on the Provisional National Identification List (PNIL) by the police led to his arrest from Sialkot airport on Monday, in less than 24 hours of the crime.

Mohsin Iqbal, an expat from Italy, and his accomplices from Tibbi Chand village in Lalamusa opened fire on co-villagers Ali Hassan, Kafeel Azhar and Umar Iqbal following an altercation at a tent-pegging competition near Haji Muhammad village.

The three were attacked by Mohsin, Qamar and their 10 accomplices when they were returning toTibbi Chand.

Ali Hassan succumbed to bullet wounds while being shifted to the Lalamusa Trauma Centre whereas Kafeel and Umar were shifted to the Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Teaching Hospital with bullet wounds.Police registered a case against 10 nominated and two unidentified suspects under sections 302, 324, 148 and 149 of the Pakistan Penal Code on the report of Zulqarnain, a brother of deceased.

Lalamusa Sadar Station House Officer Mehr Attique said that on the direction of Gujrat DPO Dr Mustanser Atta Bajwa, he got the name of main suspect Mohsin Iqbal uploaded on PNIL within a few hours of the incident due to which the suspect was caught at the Sialkot airport on Monday morning.

He said said the immigration authorities had handed over the suspect to the Lalamusa police whereas raids were being conducted to arrest the remaining suspects.

Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2024