RAWALPINDI: The chief executive of Bahria Town has been booked by the local police as the prime suspect in an attempted murder case, while his father, a property tycoon, is listed as a suspect in a case registered with Rawat police, police sources said.

In an FIR, Dhoke Sahang resident Mohammad Tariq told police on Monday that he was at his shop with Ghulam Abbas at midnight when Malik Ali Riaz, Malik Farhat, Haji Amjad Mehmood and Malik Jahangir and between 100 and 150 other armed individuals arrived.

Malik Ali Riaz and Malik Jahangir threatened them and told them to leave as the area is located within the limits of Bahria Town.

“I told Ali Riaz that we were poor people and had been residing there for 100 years; how can we leave this place,” Mr Tariq said in his FIR.

He added: “Despite our efforts, their anger did not cool. Malik Ali Riaz, who was carrying a 9mm pistol, opened fire and Malik Farhat shouted at him to kill Ghulam Abbas, and he was shot.”

He said Haji Amjad Mehmood, Malik Farhat and Malik Jahangir also opened fire, and that Mr Abbas was injured. He said that upon hearing gunshots, a number of villagers arrived at the scene.

Mr Tariq said that the villagers who came to their rescue also asked Malik Ali Riaz and Malik Jahangir for “mercy”, but their pleas fell on deaf ears, and they were told to vacate the land within a day. The injured was later moved to a hospital, where doctors said he was in critical condition.

In his FIR, Mr Tariq said that his village is located in the middle of Bahria Town Phase 8.

He said they do not want to sell the land because the village elders have resided there for 100 years, but Bahria Town’s management wants to occupy their land.

He said that Malik Ali Riaz and Malik Jahangir, armed with assault rifles, attempted to get the land vacated after they saw the villagers were unwilling to sell the land.

He claimed they were acting on the instructions of Bahria Town’s Malik Riaz, and forcibly tried to occupy the land, targeted Ghulam Abbas, and spread terror throughout the village.

He said the four men, and others, also targeted his brother.

Bahria Town spokesperson and Malik Riaz’s personal staff officer, retired Col Khalilur Rehman said that Malik Ali Riaz has been in Dubai for the last three months, and so his involvement in the case was false.

When asked about the allegation leveled against Malik Riaz, he said that when an accused has not been in the country for the last three months, how could the allegation be true.

Rawat Station House Officer Malik Rafaqat told Dawn that the police will investigate all the suspects identified in the FIR registered with police based on the complaint by Mr Tariq.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2016