July 01, 2008	Tuesday	Jamadi-us-Sani 26, 1429

SHEIKHUPURA, June 30: A large number of shopkeepers and citizens blocked GT Road in Muridke and threw traffic out of gear for around two hours on Monday to protest deteriorating law and order situation and a daylight dacoity in cloth merchant’s shop in Main Bazaar.

Five dacoits barged into Asad Munir’s shop, took Asad and his two brothers Naveed and Shahzad on gunpoint and fled after collecting Rs200,000 in cash, a gold ring and valuables.

When Naveed and Shehzad tried to catch the fleeing dacoits, they shot at them, leaving both of them injured critically.

This led the shopkeepers to shut their shops and proceed to GT Road where they staged a sit-in besides torching tyres. The suspension of traffic caused huge inconvenience to travellers to and from Lahore to Rawalpindi.

Additional SP Awais Malik and area deputy superintendent of police along with a large contingent of police reached the spot and made the protesters lift the blockade. The police officials assured the protesters that dacoits would be arrested soon.

District Police Officer (DPO) Zaeem Iqbal Sheikh took a serious notice of the incident and directed Muridke SHO Atta Virk to report at the Police Lines immediately.

APPEAL: District Council Member Boota Dogar has appealed to the inspector general of police, deputy inspector general and the DPO to arrest the assassins of his brother, Sadiq Dogar, who was allegedly gunned down by an army soldier and his three accomplices over a land dispute a few days ago.

Talking to journalists here on Monday, Boota also alleged that prime suspect Amjad, who was attached with FF Regiment deployed at Bahawalpur, had absconded from his unit and was threatening him and his family with dire consequences if they did not stop pursuing the case.

The assailants shot Sadiq dead near Qurashianwala union council office on June 20 when he was passing through a village street.

Boota said Sadiq and Amjad had a land dispute, which had been resolved with the intervention of local elders. Despite this solution, he added, Amjad killed his brother and went into hiding from where he was hurling life threats.

He demanded that Amjad’s name should be placed on the exit control list to prevent him from fleeing the country.