‘Murderer’ escapes

MARDAN, May 24: An alleged murderer escaped from police custody here on Tuesday when he was being taken to the District Headquarters Hospital for medical check-up along with two other accused, police said.

DSP city Abdus Samad Khan told Dawn that the runaway accused identified as Nayaz Ali of Babaini area was arrested two days back in a murder case which took place over a week ago.

He said that the doctors at the DHQ Hospital were examining the other two accused when Nayaz Ali waiting outside the room overpowered SI Taj Mohammad and fled from the hospital.

The DSP said that all the police personnel in the surrounding areas had been alerted and a search operation was launched soon after the incident. — Correspondent

Boy assaulted

LAKKI MARWAT: A six-year-old boy was sexually assaulted in Wanda Rehman village in the area limits of Lakki police station, police said on Tuesday.

An official said that the accused, Sifatullah, allegedly took the boy Bilal Ahmad to the guestroom of his house and sexually molested him. He said that the victim went home and narrated the gruesome event to his father, Mohammad Ishaq, who took him to the city hospital.

Police have registered a case against the accused under section 377 of PPC after a medical report confirmed that the boy was subjected to unnatural offence. The accused was later arrested and investigation has been launched into the incident. — Correspondent

Delay in gas supply

KOHAT, May 24: The residents of Lachi tehsil held a peaceful protest here on Tuesday against the delay in supply of gas to urban areas.

The protesters did not block the Indus Highway on the request of the area magistrate and registered their grievance without causing any hurdle in traffic flow.

Former MNA, Mufti Ibrar Sultan, and Fida Khattak led the protest procession which turned into a public meeting near the bazaar. In their speeches they criticised the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited for the delay in provision of gas for which pipes had been laid several months back.

They said that millions worth of equipment of pipes were rusting under the open sky and the concerned officials were deliberately delaying the project on one pretext or the other. — Correspondent

Arrest of killers sought

PESHAWAR, May 24: The residents of Dabgari have criticised Shah Qabul police for failure to arrest killers of an elderly man and demanded of the inspector general of police to help arrest the accused.

Speaking at a press conference at Peshawar Press Club on Tuesday, Shamshad Ali along with a group of elders said that local elders were resolving a murder case through negotiations at a local mosque in December last when one of the groups opened fire and killed his brother, Sajjad Ali, on the spot.

Another elder, he said, had also sustained bullet injuries, adding that those involved in the firing included Tariq Shah, Gohar Ali Shah, Orangzeb and Atta-ur-Rahman. He said that police knew the whole story but were avoiding arresting the accused. — Bureau Report

GIK Ianstitute convocation

SWABI, May 24: The fifteenth convocation of Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology would be held on June 2, said Jehangir Bashar, rector of the institute.

He told media persons here on Tuesday that GIK Institute was set up in 1993 by a few men of vision led by former president Ghulam Ishaq Khan. The Institute has so for awarded 2,360 BS, 201 MS, and 22 PhD degrees to the students in different disciplines of engineering.

Answering a question, he said that the degrees awarded by the GIK Institute were highly valued and our graduates enjoyed a privileged position in the job market.

The convocation, he said, would also be attended by parents of the students. -- Correspondent