Couple gunned down over property dispute

Victim's brother among suspects nominated in double murder case

FAISALABAD:

A man and his wife were allegedly shot dead by the victim's brother and other accomplices over a land dispute in Faisalabad, police said on Wednesday.

Police shifted the bodies to hospital for postmortem and registered a case against five suspects, including the victim's brother, his wife and son, under charges of double murder and abetment to murder.

According to police, the incident took place in Chak No 272-RB within the jurisdiction of Thikriwala police station. Police said 40-year-old Sajid Yousaf had an ongoing land dispute with his brother Abid, nephew Sarim and sister-in-law Khalida Bibi.

Investigators alleged that the suspects, along with unidentified accomplices, entered the victims' farmhouse during the night and opened indiscriminate fire on Sajid Yousaf and his 32-year-old wife, Rozia Salamat Bibi, while they were asleep.

Both victims died on the spot. Police said the prime suspect initially attempted to mislead investigators by informing police that Sajid had shot dead his wife before committing suicide. However, after preliminary investigation, police concluded that the couple had been murdered.

The suspects managed to flee after the incident.

Upon receiving information, SP Iqbal Town Chaudhry Saeed Ahmad, DSP Sadar Khuda Bakhsh, acting SHO Ali Imran Jappa and other police officials reached the scene and launched an investigation.

According to the FIR registered on the complaint of Basharat Ali, brother of the deceased woman, police nominated Abid, his son Sarim, wife Khalida Bibi and two unidentified accomplices in the case.

Family members told police that the suspects arrived at the farmhouse on motorcycles and carried out the attack due to the ongoing land dispute.