In protest: GT road blocked by relatives of murdered man

NOWSHERA:

Peshawar-Rawalpindi GT Road remained blocked for more than an hour on Saturday due to protests against the government and police for not arresting the culprits behind the killing of a man in Nowshera. More than 1,000 vehicles were stranded as a result of the blockade.

Akora Khattak Circle DSP Jehanzeb Khan said a pedestrian Mukhtaj Muhammad informed the police late on Friday of spotting a severely injured man lying by the roadside in Shaido area. The police rushed to the spot and found the man had been stabbed multiple times.

He was taken to Nowshera Headquarters Hospital and later shifted to Lady Reading Hospital due to critical injuries. “The man died on the way to the hospital,” the DSP said, adding the body was taken back to Akora Khattak station for identification. Relatives of the deceased later collected the body and identified him as Mehmood Ali, a resident of Shaido.

When the body was handed over, the relatives laid it on the road and blocked traffic, demanding the government and police to arrest the culprits.

“How can we arrest the culprits when we have not started investigations yet,” the official said. The DSP negotiated with the bereaved relatives and convinced them Ali’s murderers would be put behind bars soon. Following this, protesters unblocked the road.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 24^th, 2013.