ISLAMABAD: Two persons were killed and three injured during an exchange of fire between two groups over a land dispute in Malpur on Sunday.

According to Secretariat police, both groups resorted to firing when one party was demarcating land.

As a result, Chaudhry Rifat and Raja Kamran were killed and three persons, including a passerby, were injured. Police shifted the dead and injured to Polyclinic.

A police official said two of the injured who were in serious condition have been identified as Raja Rashid and Chaudhry Rehmat.

“A case has been registered and the bodies will be handed over to the relatives after postmortem,” the official said.Another police official, requesting anonymity, said incidents over land disputes have increased after a number of housing societies sprung up in the suburbs of Islamabad.

“Because of these housing societies, the value of property has risen manifold and a number of groups have started grabbing land,” he added.

He said the computerisation of land record is the only solution but unfortunately the record could not be computerised despite many claims by the district administration and other concerned departments.

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2017