Four gunned down in separate shootings

Four people died and three others were injured in two separate incidents on Tuesday. Rescue personnel provided medical aid to the injured and shifted them to the hospital, while the accused managed to escape. Raids are under way for their arrest.

Unidentified suspects in a car indiscriminately fired on a property office located at Kot Abdul Malik on Lahore Road and killed 3 persons, identified as Sarfaraz, Mehr Ali and Latif. Two others named Saeed and Maqsood were injured. Rescue workers shifted the victims to hospital while providing medical aid at the scene.

In another incident, unidentified suspects in a car shot and killed a young man within the limits of City Mureed K in Salamatpura. The driver managed to escape, while police recovered a pistol and a motorcycle from near the body. It is believed that the two unknown suspects left the pistol and the bike behind while escaping the scene.

However, conflicting details are muddying the waters regarding this incident. On the one hand, it is being reported that the deceased was gunned down by an unknown suspect in a car, while on the other hand, it is said that the deceased was shot dead by his own friend. Allegedly, attempts are being made to cover up the murder.

Shootings in Punjab are not uncommon and since the start of this year, there has been an upward trend. It was reported in February of this year that crime is spiraling beyond the control of the police. In one month, 54 people, including the former Bar President, were killed. Police officers continued to take action against the accused, while citizens and civil society expressed concern over the killings in Faisalabad.

In 2022, 369 people, including 78 women, were killed and 23 people, including a woman, lost their lives after being shot by suspects while resisting robbery. During the last three months of 2022, the RPO, CPO and DPOs were shuffled four times across the region, yet law and order continued to deteriorate.

In January 2023, a total of 54 people were killed within the limits of 80 police stations in Faisalabad, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, and Chiniot.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26^th, 2023.