More vigilante justice at Sessions Court

Murder accused gunned down outside court by victims’ sons.

LAHORE:

A murder accused was gunned down outside the Sessions Court on Saturday by the sons of the men he allegedly killed, in the latest bloody twist in a long-running family feud.

Cousins Muhammad Fayyaz and Muhammad Luqman waited outside the Sessions Court and accosted Muhammad Rizwan, their relative by marriage, in the motorbike parking area in Baba Ground at about 10am. Rizwan tried to run away, but was shot twice and killed. A policeman chased down and arrested Fayyaz; Luqman is still at large.

Fayyaz made a statement to the police confessing to the killing, police officials said. He later made similar confessions to this correspondent, though with one significant difference.

Fayyaz said that he had been planning the killing for a month. He and Luqman had visited the courts four times in the hope of running into Rizwan. They got their chance on Saturday at 10am.

He said that he and Luqman had confronted Rizwan in Baba Ground and then chased and shot him. He said he had fired five shots at Rizwan and hit him twice. He said that it was their gun. However, police officials said that Fayyaz had told them that the gun was Rizwan’s and they had snatched it from him in Baba Ground.

Fayyaz and Rizwan were related by marriage, the former’s uncle Amanat (Luqman’s father) married to the latter’s sister Farzana. Their dispute arose over perceived violations by both sides of the agreement for marriage. Rizwan accused Fayyaz and his family of killing Kulsoom, Rizwan and Farzana’s mother. Fayyaz accused Rizwan and his family of poisoning his father Imtiaz and shooting Amanat. Rizwan was on bail in a case for the murder of Amanat, and had gone to the court on Saturday for the bail hearing of a co-accused in the same case.

Head Constable Jamshed, who is deployed at the Sessions Court gate, chased down Fayyaz near the Sunday Bazaar and then handed him over to Islampura police. Jamshaid told The Express Tribune that Fayyaz had shot at him during the chase but missed.

Rizwan’s sister Farzana said that Fayyaz and his relatives had killed her mother Kulsoom. “They are professional criminals and have been threatening to kill all my family,” she said. She denied that her brother was involved in the killings of Amanat and Imtiaz.

Earlier in court, the Additional District and Sessions Judge Munir Ahmed issued notice to the SHO to produce the complainant in the case on September 28 and then adjourned proceedings. In the FIR of the Amanat murder case registered at Shahdara police station, complainant Ameer Ali names Rizwan, Muhammad Yousaf, Muhammad Asif, Shahbaz Akhtar, Muhammad Irfan and Shahid as accused. The former two were on bail while the latter four are in jail. The case was registered under Sections 149, 324/148 and 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 25^th, 2011.