Land dispute claims three lives in Faisalabad

Accused a proclaimed offender, said police

FAISALABAD: At least three people were killed while 28 were injured when a land dispute occurred between two groups within the jurisdiction of Rodala police station.

The incident claimed the lives of three people, including a woman and her daughter. Of those injured, four were reported to be in a critical condition. A heavy contingent of police arrived at the crime scene and collected evidence which comprised of hundreds of bullet shells. Police have started a hunt for the suspects following an initial inquiry.

A police official told Express News that Ahmed and Zafar had enmity over land with Khurram Shah. Enraged over the issue, accused Khurram, accompanied by an army of gunmen, opened fire on his opposition while its members were busy harvesting wheat in the fields.



As a result, a girl identified as Kausar Bibi, her mother Sughran Bibi and Sadi Ahmed were caught in the crossfire and died on the spot, while several others suffered bullet injuries. Lack of ambulances and first aid facilities made conditions worse for the injured. Residents of the area shifted the injured to Civil Hospital on self-help basis.

The injured were identified as Amir Hayat, Akbar Ali, Mir, Khadim, Waziran, Sarung Ali, Malani Bibi, Mehmooda Bibi, Akram, Salat, Shahid, Nafra, Azam Ali, Shahid Ali, Sharf Ali, Basheer, Asif Ali, Jaffer, Iqbal etc. Authorities at the hospital referred a large number of patients to Faisalabad’s Allied Hospital, where four of those injured were reportedly in critical condition.

Following the incident, a large number of police officers arrived at the scene, including Faisalabad CPO Athar Ismail, SSP Operations Rana Muhammad Masoom, SP Shahbaz Ilahi and ASP Abraiz Abbasi. Police seized hundreds of empty bullet cases from the site.

Police revealed that accused Khurram Ali Shah had a history of criminal record.

They said the suspect fled the country and remained as a declared absconder for five years. After breaking a deal with the opposition, Shah returned to the country and also took part in local elections.

Regional police officer Bilal Siddiqui Kamyana had tasked Faisalabad CPO to submit a report explaining the negligence in taking action against the accused. Later, over a hundred men and women protested outside the hospital after seeing a lack of police action and arrests.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 26^th, 2018.