SIALKOT, July 22: Two murder suspects were allegedly shot dead by the members of their own gang during an encounter with police near Mundeyki village of Daska tehsil on Tuesday.

According to the police, Sadar (Gujranwala) police station house officer Muhammad Iqbal took murder suspects Muhammad Akram and Zafar Iqbal to Dalleyki village for identification of a motorcycle hidden there by them. When the police van reached near the Government Girls High School, Mundeyki, seven unidentified men opened fir at the police van, took the policemen hostage and got released handcuffed Akram and Iqbal. The attackers also snatched rifles from policemen and fled.

Later, the police called reinforcement and chased Akram, Iqbal and their accomplices. The fleeing criminals took shelter in the above mentioned school and opened fire at the police. About 30 minutes of crossfire, the criminals fled from the school, leaving behind Akram and Iqbal dead in handcuffs.

Daska police claimed Akram and Iqbal were killed by their fleeing accomplices, while heirs to both men said police killed after their accomplices fled.

PROTEST: Dozens of people dealing in cell phone SIM cards staged a demonstration and observed a complete strike against a police operation against them on Tuesday.

The protesters said a Punjab government notification “clearly showed” that the police should arrest only unauthorised SIM card dealers, but the Sialkot police were also picking authorised dealers.

They said during Monday’s crackdown police seized hundreds of SIM cards from the raided shops, but mentioned only a few in the FIRs. They urged the Punjab police inspector general to look into the matter.