August 14, 2008	Thursday	Sha'aban 11, 1429

SAHIWAL, Aug 13: The Mian Channu Sadar police have allegedly killed two brothers, including a People’s Students Federation (PSF) office-bearer, in a ‘shootout’ in village 5-KB of Pakpattan district on Wednesday morning.

The locals have protested the incident and held demonstrations. They threw traffic out of gear for around eight hours and demanded registration of case against the policemen concerned.

However, the Mian chanu police claimed that both the brothers were wanted in a buffalo theft case No 261/08.

Amir Sher Gujar, 24-year-old PSF Pakpattan district president, and his elder brother Alam Sher were present with their families in their house in village 5-KB in Pakpattan Sadar police precincts. A Mian Channu Sadar police contingent headed by DSP Atiq Butt raided the house of Amir Sher at around 6am on Wednesday.

"Both the brothers were involved in dacoity and many cell phones snatching cases. We traced Alam Sher from a mobile number and raided to arrest him,” DSP Butt later told reporters at around 12pm.

However, the Mian Channu police did not inform Pakpattan Sadar police prior to the raid.

Eyewitnesses said firing continued for half of an hour and not even a single shot was fired from Amir's house. Similarly, not a single police constable or any of Amir’s family members was injured in the shootout.

“The police have killed the two brothers while they were sleeping,” claimed Haji Abdul Gaffar and Mukhtar of the same village.

The police also arrested two servants, Allah Yar and Nawaz, from Amir's house, who informed the media in front of the police that both the brothers were neither dacoits nor involved in any buffalo theft case. They also did not harbour criminals, they added.

Malik Muhammad Rafiq, Pakpattan Sadar DSP, said both the brothers had no crime history and no FIR had been registered against them in any police station of the district.

The shootout news provoked locals, especially PSF and

PPP activists, who started gathering in front of Sadar police station. Later, the police handed over the bodies to the families after autopsies at around 2:30pm.

Their family brought the bodies and placed them in Nagina Chowk in Pakpattan where demonstrators threw traffic out of gear for around five hours.

Later, the bodies were shifted to Railway Crossing Chowk where demonstrators choked traffic for another three hours. The protesters were demanding registration of cases against DSP Butt and other policemen.

The bodies were later shifted in front of Sadar police station where demonstrators were protesting the incident till the filing of this report.