MARDAN: A lawyer was among two persons shot dead and as many were injured when two rival groups exchanged fire in Saroshah area of Takhtbai tehsil here on Sunday.

Saroshah police station officials said two rival groups, one led by Irshad and the other by Shah Naseem, opened fire at each other. They said Irshad died on the spot while a passer-by identified as Rahimullah, a lawyer, and two others were injured. They said that the lawyer was taken to Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar in critical condition, but he died there.

The police named the other two injured as Khalid and Arshad of Piranodaga area. They were hospitalised where doctors declared them out of danger.

The police registered case on the complaint of Toheed, relative of slain Irshad, against the accused, Shah Naseem, Shamsul Hadi and Fazal Hadi. The officials said Junaid Hadi and Hamaad from the family of the accused had been arrested, and efforts were being made to arrest the persons nominated in the case.

On the other hand, activists of Jamaat-i-Isami and Shabab-i-Milli blocked the Mardan-Malakand road for several hours to condemn killing of Irshad, who belonged to JI.

Former JI lawmaker Mian Nadar Shah, Shabab-i-Milli district president Umair Ali and others demanded of the government to arrest the killers forthwith.