May 28, 2003	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 25,1424

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GUJRANWALA, May 27: One of the alleged robbers, who was caught by the villagers after he shot dead an elderly man and injured his wife and two sons a few days ago, committed suicide in the People’s Colony police lock-up here on Tuesday.

Police said the accused had killed Rashid Colony resident Haji Noor Muhammad and injured his wife and two sons during a robbery bid. But he was caught by the deceased’s heirs and some neighbours who handed him over to the police.

The police claimed that he confessed to have committed dozens of robberies. They said he hanged himself with a water-supply pipe in the bathroom.

Meanwhile, the deceased’s heirs have accused the police of killing the captive. They said he was detained along with his brother and another accomplice, and it was impossible to commit suicide in their presence.

However, the DHQ hospital doctors conducted his post-mortem and sent some samples to the Lahore laboratory for analysis.

NEW INSTITUTES: The Punjab government has sought recommendations from the district governments about setting up of new educational institutions, it is learnt on Tuesday.

Sources told this correspondent that the Punjab government had proposed under the new education policy that primary schools would be set up in the villages having a population of 500 and middle schools would be established at union council level with two and four kanals jurisdiction.

SENTENCED: The sessions court sentenced three persons to life imprisonment and fined each of them Rs100,000 in a murder case here on Tuesday.

While Zafar, Khurshid and Imran were convicted, as many seven of their co-accused, including Ismail, Ashraf, Ijaz, Ibrar, Hanif and Mahmood, were given the benefit of the doubt and acquitted.

The convicts had killed one Sultan Ahmad in Lunda Sharif Tetley over a minor issue some two years ago.

The court also awarded life imprisonment and a Rs50,000 fine to one Zafar Iqbal and gave benefit of the doubt to three brothers, Aslam, Mansha and Munawar Hussain, in another murder case here on the same day.

According to the prosecution, the convict had killed one Akhtar Mahmood over a land dispute in Qila Dedar Singh.

MURDER: A farmer was gunned down, allegedly by his rivals, at his outhouse in the Cantonment here on Tuesday.

According to sources, the deceased, Mohammad Rafiq, was asleep when the unidentified assailants came to the place, opened fire on him and escaped. He died on the spot.

AWARD: The range police DIG on Tuesday awarded cash prize and commendation certificate to an SHO who arrested robbers within half an hour after the incident.

DIG Malik Muhammad Iqbal also appreciated District Police Officer Saud Aziz and Wazirabad ASP Waqar Ahmad Chauhan’s efforts in arresting the accused and recovering Rs250,000 from their possession.