GUJRAT: A 20-year old mason was shot dead and two others, including his brother, suffered injuries in firing by unidentified robbers near Warraichanwala village of Dinga police precincts.

The deceased youth was to travel to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)and they all were on their way to Islamabad airport to drop him when their rented car came under attack of armed robbers.

Reports said Ali Hassan, a young mason by profession, had left his house in Khoja village along with his brother Jabran and a friend Zain Iqbal for Islamabad in a rented car being driven by driver Sagheer Ahmed late on Friday.

When their car was passing through another village, two unidentified men signalled them but the driver did not stop on some suspicion after which the armed robbers opened fire, leaving Ali Hassan, Zain and Jabran injured whereas the driver continued to drive the car until some safe distance.

The injured were shifted to Dinga Civil Hospital and later doctors referred them to Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Teaching Hospital (ABSTH) as Ali Hassan succumbed to his injuries and the condition of Zain was critical.

Police had initially registered a case under sections 324 and 34 of Pakistan Penal Code against the unidentified suspects and later inserted the section 302 in the FIR.

However, the heirs of victims have complained that the police did not invoke PPC sections related to robbery or robbery bid charges as the incident was a result of an attempt to robbery.

They have urged the senior police officers to look into the matter to provide justice to a poor family of the victim through tracing and arresting the suspects involved in the incident.

Police said forensic experts collected evidence from the crime scene.

Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2023