Eight people were burnt on Thursday over a property dispute between two brothers in Dera Ghazi Khan, police said. Three children died on the spot and their father succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. The rest of the family were said to be in critical condition.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Saleem Niazi told The Express Tribune that the incident was reported in the Mamoori area of Kot Chattha, where Qasim Khosa, 43, and his brother Salman Khosa, 38, had had a dispute over division of inherited property.
He said Salman and Qasim had inherited 12 kanals of land from their father. Salman, he said, had wanted division. Qasim, however, was against it. The DSP said that initial investigation had revealed that their father had not divided the land between them.
The DSP said a few months ago, Qasim had sold wood worth Rs50,000 from the land. This led to an argument. He said the two brothers had had several arguments on the issue. Every time some family elders had helped resolve the matter, he said.
On Thursday, police said, Qasim and his family were attacked in their sleep. Police said Salman and his six friends locked house and set the house on fire at around 2:30am.
Some residents gathered in front of the house on seeing the smoke and hearing the screams. Rescue 1122 was called. It took them half-an-hour to break in. Rescue officials said they had to break windows and doors to bring the injured out. They said the rooms, too, were found locked.
By the time they entered the house, three children had died. The rest, including Qasim, were taken to district headquarters hospital, from where they were taken to Nishtar Hospital in Multan. Qasim died a few hours later. His wife, Musarrat Bibi, and three children were said to be in critical condition. The deceased children were identified as Hassan Raza, 2, Fatima, 4, Sumaira, 12.
Doctors at Nishtar Hospital told The Express Tribune the injured had 60 to 70 per cent burns.
Choti Zarin Station House Officer Mehmood Khan said that the DG Khan the district police officer had visited the scene personally monitored the rescue operation.
He said the DPO had formed five teams to arrest the suspects. An FIR was registered against seven men, nominating Salman, his friend Faqeer Bakhsh and five unidentified men.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 14th, 2014.