Man guns down cousin over land dispute

Suspect had also killed his uncle over property row 14 years ago

THEKRI WALA:

A young man was allegedly shot dead by his cousins over a land dispute on Friday.

Police seized the body and registered a case against the suspects.

Police said a stand has been taken in the case filed by Khaliq Hussain, a resident of 206 GB, that his son Farhan Qadri was present on his agricultural land when sons of his uncle Ghulam Nabi namely Muhammad Naeem, Abdullah, Imtiaz, Ramzan and Mukhtar came and challenged his son over a land dispute.

They also threatened to kill him. Meanwhile, one of the suspects Naeem opened fire with a 30-bore pistol at Qadri. The bullet hit the victim’s chest who died on the spot, Hussain told the police.

Hussain further said that another suspect Ramzan also tried to shoot him but luckily he remained unhurt.

After hearing the gunshots people nearby ran towards the site of the incident. Upon seeing the people approaching the fields, the suspects fled while hurling death threats upon him.

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The complainant also said that the suspect had also demolished a boundary around his agricultural land.

Hussain also told police that around 14 years ago, Ramzan had killed his brother Zulfiqar over a land dispute.

Police have registered a case under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) against the suspect under the provisions of 302-148-149 and started raids to arrest them.

Incidents of murder involving property disputes were not uncommon in the province.

On March 25, a man along with his pregnant wife and two children were murdered by his father in Kotli Kokian, Daska.

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.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 2^nd, 2021.