Old feud: One shot dead, shop and house burnt in return
Police says that the two rival groups have been living in the same area for many years.
RAWALPINDI:
A person was gunned down while two others were injured in an exchange of fire between two groups in Dhok Elahi Bakhsh on Monday.
Nawaz Khan, 35, was killed when four armed men allegedly opened fire at him. “The reason of the murder was cited to be an old enmity between the groups,” said a police official. “Some 16 bullets shot at Khan killed him on the spot,” he added.
A witness told The Express Tribune that Nawaz Khan and his friends were going somewhere, when two men opened fire on them while they were crossing their street. Khan was killed as a result, while the gunmen managed to escape from the scene.
Soon after the incident, the relatives and friends of the deceased reacted angrily and the rival’s house and shop were set on fire. However, nobody was present inside the house. The fire-brigade managed to put out the fire before it spread.
Jalil Khan, a neighbour of the deceased, said that the two families, Khans and Gujars, had always clashed on petty issues, resulting in the murder of two people from the Khan family in the last two years.
A police official, while sharing details about the enmity, said that on September 27, 2009, Sadaqat alias Kala, the elder brother of Khan, and two others persons were killed when Shaukat alias Gujjar and his accomplices opened fire on them in the same area.
Police said that these two rival groups have been living in the same area for many years. When Sadaqat was killed, the police lodged an FIR and arrested Khalid Ahmed and Abid Ali, who were later granted bail by the Supreme Court.
The Station House Officer of Waris Khan Police Station Raja Abdul Rashid said that an FIR had been lodged against Irfan Ali, Abid Ali, Khalid Ahmed and Muhammad Bilal. “The injured man Muhammad Afzal nominated these persons in his FIR and the police have started a search operation to find the culprits,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 18th, 2011.
A person was gunned down while two others were injured in an exchange of fire between two groups in Dhok Elahi Bakhsh on Monday.
Nawaz Khan, 35, was killed when four armed men allegedly opened fire at him. “The reason of the murder was cited to be an old enmity between the groups,” said a police official. “Some 16 bullets shot at Khan killed him on the spot,” he added.
A witness told The Express Tribune that Nawaz Khan and his friends were going somewhere, when two men opened fire on them while they were crossing their street. Khan was killed as a result, while the gunmen managed to escape from the scene.
Soon after the incident, the relatives and friends of the deceased reacted angrily and the rival’s house and shop were set on fire. However, nobody was present inside the house. The fire-brigade managed to put out the fire before it spread.
Jalil Khan, a neighbour of the deceased, said that the two families, Khans and Gujars, had always clashed on petty issues, resulting in the murder of two people from the Khan family in the last two years.
A police official, while sharing details about the enmity, said that on September 27, 2009, Sadaqat alias Kala, the elder brother of Khan, and two others persons were killed when Shaukat alias Gujjar and his accomplices opened fire on them in the same area.
Police said that these two rival groups have been living in the same area for many years. When Sadaqat was killed, the police lodged an FIR and arrested Khalid Ahmed and Abid Ali, who were later granted bail by the Supreme Court.
The Station House Officer of Waris Khan Police Station Raja Abdul Rashid said that an FIR had been lodged against Irfan Ali, Abid Ali, Khalid Ahmed and Muhammad Bilal. “The injured man Muhammad Afzal nominated these persons in his FIR and the police have started a search operation to find the culprits,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 18th, 2011.