Four killed, two injured over marriage dispute

MANDRA:

Four of a family, including a young woman, were gunned down and  two were injured over a marriage dispute in Mandra area on Thursday.

The police sources said that Ambreen Bano, Kausar Shaheen, Zohra Bibi and Mohammad Ishfaq, residents of Sahang village, were going to Chakwal in a Suzuki pickup when they were intercepted by their rival group near Rakh More. The men in the car opened fire at the family causing the casualties.

Resultantly, Muhammad Ishfaq died on the spot while three women were injured critically. Later, the assailants rushed to Sahang bus stop where they spotted Abdul Ghafoor at a shop and shot him dead.

Imtiaz Hussain, another relative of the victims, was also killed by the armed men on a killing spree. The injured women were shifted to the Tehsil Headquarter Hospital (THQ) and later, were referred to a Rawalpindi hospital in critical condition. However, Ambreen Bano, 20, died on the way to the hospital, sources added.

A girl of the village had earlier eloped with Rafaqat Hussain, who was also a resident of the same area two months back.

After a court marriage, the couple escaped to Azad Kashmir.

On Thursday, the relatives of the girl, according to the police sources attacked the family members of Rafaqat Hussain to avenge the boy’s act. Abdul Ghafoor was the brother of Rafaqat Hussain while other victims were also his close relatives.

The police registered case against Amir, Tahir, Azram, Saeed, Jawad, Saqib, Waheed, Babar and Yasir and started investigations. According to SDPO Syed Iqbal Kazmi, two of the accused have been arrested and weapons have also been recovered from their possession while further investigations are underway.



Published in The Express Tribune, September 17^th, 2011.