ISLAMABAD: Fourteen people were injured during a gunbattle over land here on Monday, police said.

The incident took place when employees of a housing society started construction work on land located in Darwala, police said. But the villagers were not ready to accept their claim over the land and asked them to vacate it.

First they exchanged hot words which led to a fight between them using batons.

The society’s security guards started firing in the air to push the villagers back.

The villagers left the field but returned with weapons and a gunbattle ensued, the police said. As many as 14 people –eight villagers and six employees of the society – were injured.

After getting information, the police reached the spot and forced the gunmen from both sides to leave. Later, the injured were taken to a hospital where condition of some of the injured was critical.

When contacted, Station House Officer of Lohi Bher Inspector Sattar Shah said there was a dispute between a housing society and villagers of Darwala.

The society claimed that it had purchased the land but the villagers denied it and claimed that the land which was sold to the society was located somewhere else.

Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2015

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