MULTAN, April 17: Four brothers were hanged in the New Central Jail here on Tuesday for killing 13 close relatives.

Mohammad Akram, Khuda Bukhsh, Mohammad Asghar and Mohammad Iqbal were hanged at 5:30am and their bodies were handed over to their brother Mohammad Akbar who had been acquitted by the court in the case.

The convicts, along with their father Allah Ditta, had killed three uncles, nine cousins, including women and infants, and an aunt over a land dispute on April 15, 1999, in the Sara-i-Siddhu police area in Khanewal. Allah Ditta, the main accused, had died in prison during trial.

A court in Khanewal had sentenced the accused to death on Jan 26, 2000, and the Lahore High Court had refused their appeal on Feb 7, 2005, and the Supreme Court on Aug 3, 2005.

Earlier, black warrants had been issued for March 7, 2007, but on an order of the president, the hanging process was delayed due to efforts for a patch-up between the rivals.

Later, black warrants were reissued and April 17 was fixed as the hanging date.

A division bench of the Lahore High Court, Multan bench, had rejected an appeal to stop the execution process despite a patch-up between the culprits and heirs of the murdered people.