FAISALABAD: Nearly three dozen people protested against the police on Thursday for failing to arrest a man killed in a shootout.
The protesters gathered on Rajana Road and blocked Rajana Chowk for traffic by erecting blockades.
Talking to newsmen, Hakim Ali Khan, one of the protesters, said Naubahar Khan Gadhi was riding a motorbike when Shahzaib and his brother Tabassum shot and killed him near Chak No.189-GB.
They said the men had an enmity over a property dispute. “We complained about the incident to the police but they have not taken any action to arrest the suspects,” he said.
The protesters chanted slogans against the killers and urged the police to arrest them immediately.
Later, a police contingent headed by Rajana Station House Officer (SHO) Jamshed Ali Chishti reached the site and met the protesters.
Chishti told them that action would be taken again the suspects and they would be taken to task in accordance with law. They protesters dispersed peacefully on receiving the assurance.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Chishti said Gadhi had been a proclaimed offender and was wanted in 19 cases registered at Rajana, Kamalia, Mamu Kanjan and Chitiana police stations.
The SHO said Gadhi had several rivals in and around his locality, Chak 188-GB.
He said he was shot dead while he was returning from Chak 189-GB after getting his motorbike fixed.
He said initially his family had registered a complaint against unidentified suspects and had later nominated two people. He said police were investigating the case.
“If the men nominated by Gadhi’s relatives are found to be involved, they will be arrested immediately,” the SHO added.
He said Gadhi’s body had been sent to the morgue for autopsy.
He said it was returned to the family for burial but they took the body to Rajana Chowk and staged a sit-in.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 2nd, 2015.