July 05, 2008	Saturday	Rajab 1, 1429

LAHORE, July 4: Over a dozen people suffered bullet injuries during an armed clash between Defence Housing Authority security staff and villagers of Fateh Jhang Singhwala over the issue of ‘disputed’ land’s possession here on Friday.

The DHA had reportedly purchased a piece of 33-kanal land situated in Fateh Jhang Singhwala in Burki. On Friday, a team of DHA officials accompanied by security staff went there to take the possession of the land from the villagers.

They initially held negotiations with them in order to get the land peacefully. However, the villagers refused to vacate the land.

When a group of villagers tried to stop the security staff from taking the possession of the land, an armed clash began, leaving over a dozen villagers and security officials injured. The condition of the injured, shifted to the Ghurki Hospital, was stated to be stable.

Soon after the clash, a heavy contingent of police reached the village to control the situation.

Quoting DHA administration, the DSP concerned said the authority had bought the land lawfully and a group of local villagers had illegally occupied it.

Rejecting police claim, Hasan Muhammad, a villager, told reporters that DHA administration had taken ‘illegal’ possession of a village graveyard. He said the disputed land also included a road that leads to their village.

Hassan accused the Burki police of torturing the villagers and manhandling their women.

The police meanwhile registered a case against 42 villagers on the DHA complaint .

Protesting against the ‘unjust’ decision of the police to register a case only against them, scores of villagers later gathered on the Fasial Chowk, The Mall, and blocked the road for over an hour. They chanted slogans against the police for ‘favouring’ the DHA administration. They said they would not end their protest unless the ‘fake’ cases against the villagers were withdrawn. However, on the assurance of a senior police officer they dispersed peacefully.

Their protest caused a massive traffic jam on The Mall and adjoining roads.

Murder: The body of a 10-year-old boy was found in Chuhng on Friday.

Police spotted the body of an unidentified boy in Muhafiz Town and shifted it to the city morgue.

Police suspected that the boy had been murdered after sodomy.