Celebratory firing injures two

Hanan and Rehman were witnessing festivities when stray bullets hit them

CHAK JHUMRA:

Two teenagers were shot and injured during firing at a Mehndi ceremony in Rasoolpura.

They were rushed to the hospital.

Police arrived at the scene and launched a search operation to find the culprits. According to the police report, 17-year-old Hanan and 15-year-old Rehman had been witnessing aerial firing by the youths during the Mehndi ceremony at Chhota Rasoolpura on Sheikhupura Road.

In the meantime, indiscriminate firing was carried out by some youth.

As a result of the firing, bullets hit Hanan and Rehman, who had been standing nearby. Rescue 1122 personnel rushed them to the Allied Hospital.

Police rushed to the spot and launched raids to nab the accused who opened fire at the Mehndi ceremony. The incidents of people falling prey to ceremonial firing in Punjab are on the rise. Earlier this month, a young man was killed in firing carried out in jubilation during a wedding ceremony in the district.

Police registered a case against nine people, 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 Mehndi ceremony of his neighbor, Maqsood.

Read: Minor loses life to celebratory firing

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 the home to see the fireworks. 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. Police registered a case against nine suspects, including the groom Maqsood and his two brothers, under Sections 302, 148 and 149 of the Pakistan Penal Code and the Marriage Act of 2016. Police officials said they had seized weapons from the arrested suspects and were carrying out raids to apprehend their accomplices.

Regional Police Officer Imran Mahmood also took notice of the death of the young man and sought an immediate report from city police chief Ghulam Mubashir Mekan.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 19^th, 2022.