SIALKOT: Four gunmen shot at and killed a person, Sheikh Rashid, for allegedly pursuing the murder case of his father in Bhadaal village late on Thursday, according to the first information report (FIR).

The suspects returned to the village to strike another time on Friday morning and opened fire on the people gathered outside the house of the deceased, leaving Majeed, Nasir and Aslam injured.

Rescue 1122 shifted them to the Government Allama Iqbal Memorial Teaching Hospital, Sialkot.

The gunmen of the Adnan group had shot dead Sheikh Arshad over an old enmity in the village on April 27, 2019. Arshad’s elder son Rashid (45) was pursuing the murder case of his father against the accused. Suspects were forcing the deceased to withdraw the murder case against them, the police say.

Rashid was near his house in the village when Rehman Hameed, Khawar Latif, Naeem Haneef and Saleem, alias Guru, challenged him challenged him that now it was his turn after his father. They shot at and injured him.

The family tried to shift the injured to local hospital in Sialkot in a car, but the suspects blocked the passage near village’s graveyard.

Rashid died from injuries in the car. Once they confirmed the death of Rashid, suspects fled.

The murder sparked anger among the residents who set ablaze four locked houses of the suspects in the village. The firefighters of the Rescue 1122 Sialkot extinguished the fire after several hours. The houses were completely burnt, said Rescue 1122 officials.

The police have yet to register a case of the burning of four houses, as no one approached the police.

Local residents said had the Sialkot Sadar police arrived on time, the situation would have been under control.

On Friday, hundreds of villagers, including heirs to Rashid, staged a demonstration against the brutal murder and police negligence. They placed the body in the Chowk of Akbarabad area and chanted slogans against the Sialkot police.

They burnt tyres and kept the traffic blocked on main Sialkot-Eimanabad Road for about five hours from 6:30am to 11:30am.

They demanded the early arrest of the suspects and action against the Sialkot Sadar police officials.

The family said that they had repeatedly altered the Sialkot police about the threats they were receiving from the rivals for pursuing the murder case.

Earlier, the suspects had secured bail in the murder case of Arshad murder case. The police remained unable to address their concerns.

Local senior police officials negotiated with the protesters and assured them of the early arrest of the killers and action against negligent police officials. On this assurance, they dispersed and buried the body.

The Sialkot Sadar police registered a murder case against the four nominated suspects on the report of Kishwar Mehmood, the brother of slain Rashid.

The police said they had arrested Rehman Hameed, Naeem Hanif and Saleem.

KILLED: Two people were killed in a head-on collision between a Mazda van and a motorcycle near Sabzpeer, Pasrur, on Friday.

Humtala-Shakargarh-based Majeed and Kahlid riding a motorcycle when the collision took place killing both of them on the spot. Rescue 1122 shifted bodies to the Pasrur Tehsil Headquarters Hospital for an autopsy.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2019