Factory worker guns down two colleagues

Gunshots rang out through the corridors of a cement factory early on Thursday morning, where the Deputy Manager of Production allegedly shot his deputy general manager of production and an operator dead, while also seriously injuring the production manager.

According to details, a heated argument took place during a meeting at factory in Daudkhel, involving Deputy Manager Waqas Bangash and Deputy General Manager Abdul Wahab. As the argument escalated, Waqas allegedly drew a 9mm pistol and shot Wahab dead on the spot.

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While trying to intervene and protect their colleague, production operator Abdul Samad Khan Niazi and production manager Umar Butt were both seriously wounded by the assailant. Khan succumbed to his injuries, while Butt remains in critical condition and has been admitted to the District Headquarters Hospital in Mianwali.

Elite force police promptly reached the scene upon information of the incident and arrested the perpetrator, who was found in possession of the pistol at the scene. As news of the incident spread, DPO Mianwali Matiullah Khan Nawani, along with a substantial police contingent, arrived at the site. The bodies of the two deceased employees were shifted to DHQ Hospital Mianwali for post-mortem examinations.

Waqas, who had been working at the factory for a year, began his shift on Thursday with routine greetings. However, between 6am and 8am, something transpired that prompted him to return to his hostel in China Colony, retrieve a hidden 9mm pistol and re-enter the factory.

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Once inside the Control Room (CCR), he allegedly fired two shots at Abdul Samad Khan without uttering a word. Subsequently, he proceeded to the office of DGM Production Abdul Wahab and allegedly shot him twice. As Umar Butt entered the room, he too was shot. Bangash then returned to the CCR and shot at the lifeless body of Abdul Samad Khan twice.

At this moment, another person entered the CCR. Bangash allegedly levelled the gun at his head but discovered that he had run out of ammunition. With no spare magazine available, Bangash placed the pistol aside and raised his hands. Factory security soon arrived on scene, to whom Bangash peacefully surrendered.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 20^th, 2023.