Man slays son’s family over property dispute

Two children, pregnant woman beaten to death with rod

DASKA:

A man, his pregnant wife and two children were murdered allegedly by his father in Kotli Kokian, Punjab on Thursday.

There was an atmosphere of gloom in the village after the incident. According to local people, both the children were beaten to death with an iron rod in front of their mother. Later on, the woman was also killed.

According to the police report, the incident took place in Kotli Kokian village of Motra area. Basharat and his son Adnan were allegedly involved in a property dispute. Adnan was feeding buffaloes near his house when he was shot dead.

His pregnant wife Mashal, two-year-old son Abdul Hadi and three-year-old daughter Haniya were beaten to death with an iron rod inside the house. Adnan’s father Basharat was mysteriously missing after the incident.

Read more: Four men gunned down in Lodhran

Reportedly, there was a property dispute between the suspect and his son. Adnan was son of Basharat’s first wife. Basharat had divorced Adnan’s mother and remarried.

A heavy contingent of police cordoned off the village and shifted the bodies to Civil Hospital Daska for postmortem.

People from other villages reached Kotli Kokian after hearing the news about the quadruple murder. A wave of fear and panic has spread in the area. Raids are being carried out to arrest the suspect. Mashal was a resident of Adha village and she was about to give birth to a child.

In a similar incident last week, four men were gunned down in Lodhran. Police cited family enmity as possible motive behind the quadruple murder.

The four men were shot dead by unidentified gunmen within the limits of Kahror Pakka police station on Thursday.

Police said the four victims were travelling in a car after attending a court hearing. The assailants intercepted the car and opened fire. As a result, all of them died on the spot. The suspects managed to escape the crime scene amid panic which followed the shooting, said a police spokesperson. The deceased were identified as Riaz, Mustafa, Abbas and Sajjad.

RPO Syed Khurram Ali took notice of the incident and ordered the immediate arrest of the suspects.

Earlier this year, at least five persons were killed in a firing incident in Kotli Sian area on January 16.

Police said a man deranged over a family dispute opened fire at his in-laws. As a result of firing, five persons died on the spot. The culprit fled the crime scene and police started search for him.

In a similar incident on September 30 last year, in a bid to seize property and money, an elderly man was allegedly murdered by his daughter-in-law and grandson in Faisalabad. Reportedly, 85-year-old Basheer Ahmed, son of Imamuddin, lived with his son Nadeem Abbas in Iqbal Tow in Ghulam Muhammadabad. The grandson of the deceased, identified as Waseem Abbas, wanted to seize his grandfather’s property and bank balance.

Waseem along with his mother Aasia Bibi had an altercation over the property issue with the elderly man. Waseem hit the victim in the head with a brick. He was shifted to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to injuries.

On July 14 last year, a man shot dead his brother-in-law and injured two other family members over a domestic dispute.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 26^th, 2021.