Property dispute: Exchange of fire leaves two injured
Firing continued on Adiala Road for around 30 minutes when police finally came.
RAWALPINDI:
Panic gripped the area and two men were injured, after two groups exchanged fire over a property dispute, hardly a kilometer away from the highly sensitive Adiala Jail, on Saturday. After the police finally reached the area, three men were arrested and four guns were seized from the roof of a house on Adiala Road, from where shots were fired.
The firing continued for quite some time in Samar Zar Colony, where one of the group had camped atop a three-storey building, from where they fired at their rivals who were on the other side of the Adiala Road, eyewitnesses and police said.
“Raja Abid stopped the construction of a wall being raised by Raja Sajid and at around 3:30pm, firing between their groups began. Local people shut down their shops and ran for safety,” said Zaman Ali, who resides in Samar Zar Colony. Eyewitnesses said that firing continued for about half an hour and that the Saddar Bairuni police only reached the spot after the incident began running on TV news channels, despite the close proximity of Adiala Jail. “They (police) remained absent from the crime scene on account of VIP movement for quite some time, it was only after the TV channels took up the matter that some action was taken,” added a local.
Before the arrival of the police, both groups had fled the scene. However, the police claimed to have arrested three men from the Raja Abid group, Zaman said.
Exchange of fire frequently occurs in the Adiala Road area due to property disputes. The bone of contention between the two groups is a 12 marla residential plot claimed by both parties.
On their arrival, the police entered the three-story house from where Raja Abid and group fired at their rivals in the street. Police seized three repeaters and a rifle from the rooftop. The police arrested Shahid Riaz, Wajid Ferroz and Saqib Asghar, all from Abid’s group, while Raja Sajid and his brother Nawaz received bullet injuries on their legs.
At the site of the incident, Saddar Bairuni Station House Officer Inspector Sohail Zaffar said he was busy with VIP duties when he learnt about the incident. He said more arrests would be made and firearms would be recovered.
The SHO, when asked whether an FIR would be registered under antiterrorism laws, said it would be decided after consultations.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 12th, 2012.
Panic gripped the area and two men were injured, after two groups exchanged fire over a property dispute, hardly a kilometer away from the highly sensitive Adiala Jail, on Saturday. After the police finally reached the area, three men were arrested and four guns were seized from the roof of a house on Adiala Road, from where shots were fired.
The firing continued for quite some time in Samar Zar Colony, where one of the group had camped atop a three-storey building, from where they fired at their rivals who were on the other side of the Adiala Road, eyewitnesses and police said.
“Raja Abid stopped the construction of a wall being raised by Raja Sajid and at around 3:30pm, firing between their groups began. Local people shut down their shops and ran for safety,” said Zaman Ali, who resides in Samar Zar Colony. Eyewitnesses said that firing continued for about half an hour and that the Saddar Bairuni police only reached the spot after the incident began running on TV news channels, despite the close proximity of Adiala Jail. “They (police) remained absent from the crime scene on account of VIP movement for quite some time, it was only after the TV channels took up the matter that some action was taken,” added a local.
Before the arrival of the police, both groups had fled the scene. However, the police claimed to have arrested three men from the Raja Abid group, Zaman said.
Exchange of fire frequently occurs in the Adiala Road area due to property disputes. The bone of contention between the two groups is a 12 marla residential plot claimed by both parties.
On their arrival, the police entered the three-story house from where Raja Abid and group fired at their rivals in the street. Police seized three repeaters and a rifle from the rooftop. The police arrested Shahid Riaz, Wajid Ferroz and Saqib Asghar, all from Abid’s group, while Raja Sajid and his brother Nawaz received bullet injuries on their legs.
At the site of the incident, Saddar Bairuni Station House Officer Inspector Sohail Zaffar said he was busy with VIP duties when he learnt about the incident. He said more arrests would be made and firearms would be recovered.
The SHO, when asked whether an FIR would be registered under antiterrorism laws, said it would be decided after consultations.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 12th, 2012.