SAHIWAL, May 25: Nine people were injured in a gas cylinder blast at a hotel here on Wednesday. The incident occurred when the people were breakfasting at the Master Hotel, Kot Khadim Ali Shah. The hotel and the adjoining shop caught fire after the blast. The injured were identified as Nadeem, Sarwar, Khalil Ahmad, Mansoor, Mazhar, Abdul Qadir, Ghulam Mohiuddin, Salamat and Khalid. They were rushed to hospital where the condition of Abdul Qadir and Sarwar was stated to be serious.

Farid Town police are going into the matter.

DEMO: Residents of Chak 5/11-L and Gakhranwala on Wednesday demonstrated in front of the DPO office for allegedly releasing of two robbers-cum-killers by the police and its failure to arrest their six other accomplices.

Reports said that eight robbers had deprived six passersby of Rs85,000 on April 10 near Chak 5/11-L. On resistance, armed robbers had also killed ice vendor Muhammad Anwar. Police had arrested killers Naeem Cheema and Iqbal Nehroo on the identification of one Javed. Despite the clue to six other robbers-cum-killers, the police did not arrest them.