Villagers demand arrest of suspected killers of 2 vets

Police say they have confiscated property of suspects.

FAISALABAD:

Hundreds of villagers from Chak 200-RB in the Khurianwala area took out a protest on Monday calling on police to arrest the suspects nominated for the killing of two veterinary doctors.

Brothers Dr Sohail Ahmad and Dr Zaheer Ahmad were shot dead on September 17 on Lathianwala Road. They were graduates of the University of Agricultural Faisalabad (UAF) and were employed at the Livestock Department.

The protest started at Katchery Bazaar Chowk, . They then moved to the Faisalabad Press Club near Zila Council Chowk and staged a sit-in.

The protestors warned that they would lay siege to the Chief Minister’s Secretariat and protest again on Saturday.

Muhammad Khalid Ghafoor, the doctors’ brother, told media that the family had lodged a complaint against four people in the Khurianwala police station but they were not being arrested as they had links with the Punjab government.

Ghafoor said they were being pressured to withdraw the murder case.

The protestors kept traffic jammed for five hours.

SSP (Operations) Sadiq Ali Dogar arrived at the spot and promised to arrest the suspects before December 7.

Jaranwala SP Nasir Sial said all the accused have been declared proclaimed offenders as per law. He said around 250 kanals of land and 70 buffaloes owned by them were taken into custody a week ago. He said the accused would be arrested within the next 48 hours.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th, 2012.