A young man was killed in firing carried out in jubilation during a wedding ceremony.
Police registered a case against nine persons including the groom and his two brothers on charges of murder and violation of the Marriage Act. Three of the suspects, including the brothers of the groom, were arrested.
According to the police, Hamid Mahmood, a resident of Usman Town in Chak 215 area, stated in his complaint that his nephew Saqib Ali had been fatally shot during the henna ceremony of his neighbour Maqsood, son of Yaqub.
The complainant informed Saddar police that Shoaib alias Kamla Jutt, Iqbal alias Bali, Maqsood's brother Umar Farooq and Mehboob along with Fani Dogar, Qadeer Jutt and others fired into the air and set off fireworks during the celebration.
He said his nephew Saqib Ali, 19, went out of our home upon hearing the sound of fireworks and firing. The suspects were firing into the air indiscriminately.
“Meanwhile, Omar Farooq and Iqbal fired shots that hit my nephew Saqib in the head,” the complainant alleged.
He said the youth was severely injured. Rescue workers rushed him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Local police officials, including Saddar Police Station SHO Inspector Waheed Shahid rushed to the spot on receiving information about the incident. They took the body into custody for postmortem, aftre which it was handed over to the family.
The police registered a case against nine suspects, including the groom Maqsood and his two brothers, under Sections 302, 148 and 149 of Pakistan Penal Code and the Marriage Act of 2016.
The groom's brothers Mehboob and Umar Farooq were arrested along with Shoaib.
Police officials said they had seized weapons from the arrested suspects and were carrying out raids to apprehend their accomplices.
Read: "Aerial firing on the rise"
Regional Police Officer Imran Mahmood also took notice of the death of the young man in aerial firing and sought an immediate report from city police chief Ghulam Mubashir Mekan.
The official ordered the arrest of all the suspects in the case.
The incidents of people falling prey to aerial firing in Punjab on the rise.
On December 25, 2021 a boy was shot dead in aerial firing at a wedding ceremony in Madina Town.
Reportedly, Atif, Usman, Noman and three other suspects, who were allegedly intoxicated, opened fire into the air at the wedding ceremony of Abdul Rehman in Chak 109GB.
Consequently, 14-year-old Saad Ali, son of Haq Ali suffered a bullet injury in the head. He was rushed to Allied Hospital in critical condition, where he succumbed to his injuries.
The Madina Town DSP and Chak Jhumra police station SHO reached the spot and shifted the body to a nearby hospital for postmortem.
Police registered FIRs against six suspects in the firing incident.
Out of the six, the police arrested three and also carried out raids to arrest the three remaining suspects.
Meanwhile, CPO Ghulam Mubashir Mekan took notice of the incident and sought a report from Madina Town SP Naeem Aziz Sindhu. He issued orders for immediate arrest of the remaining suspects.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 6th, 2022.
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