LAKKI MARWAT: Police have arrested five people in alleged swara case where two girls were being offered to settle an honour-related dispute between two families in Titterkhel village.

Giving details, they said that one Wakil Khan told them that he along with his brothers Asmatullah and Sifatullah caught a villager Razaullah in objectionable condition with his sister-in-law at his house on Thursday night.

“The incident was brought into the notice of close relatives on which a local elder Abdul Rahim meditated to resolve the matter,” they quoted Wakil as saying.

Wakil told police that after talking to the parents and sisters of Razaullah, the mediator, Rahim, decided to settle the dispute according to local customs.

“According to the agreement, Razaullah would hand over his two sisters to the family of Wakil Khan,” said police, quoting Wakil as giving details of the agreement between the two families.

“Rahim took the sisters of Razaullah to the house of Wakil so as to settle the honour-related dispute,” the police said and added that both girls were recovered from Wakil’s house.

They said that during initial interrogation the girls revealed that they unwillingly accepted the agreement to save the life of their brother.

A police official said that five of the seven accused, including Wakil Khan, Asmatullah, Sifatullah, Razaullah and Abdul Rahim, had been arrested after registration of a case against them under Section 310-A in Ghaznikhel police station.

He said that efforts were underway to apprehend the girls’ parents. On Friday, the arrested men were presented before a judicial magistrate who remanded them into police custody and handed over the girls to their uncle.

Meanwhile, police claimed to have arrested over a dozen hardened criminals and suspects during the search and strike operation and snap checking in parts of the district.

An official told this correspondent on Friday that the operation ordered by DPO Khalid Hamdani was successful as the law-enforcers eliminated the hideouts of criminal gangs. “The elite force and anti-terror squad personnel backed by armoured personnel carriers also took part in the operation,” he maintained.

The official said that the police rounded up nine proclaimed offenders and six suspects during the operation and seized illegal weapons and contraband items. He said that the seized items included an AK-47 assault rifle, seven shotguns, five pistols, 213 bullets and a small quantity of hashish.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2016