RAWALPINDI: The police on Monday claimed to have arrested six people for their alleged involvement in the murder of nine people, including four children, in a village on the outskirts of Rawalpindi.

According to the police, one of the main suspects in the murder, confessed to the killings and said they were in revenge for his mother’s murder.

On Friday, the suspects allegedly attacked a home with automatic weapons, killing five women and four children and injuring three children, all from the same family.

Their murders caused tensions in the area as well as nationwide outrage against the police’s performance, with many arguing that the police should have taken preemptive measures when the aforementioned suspect’s mother was killed, as her alleged killers had been living in the same area and had been granted interim bail.

A retired senior police officer said: “Had the police taken it seriously and played their role in defusing the tension, the nine people would have survived and the woman’s killers would have been brought to justice.”

Shortly after the shooting, Elite Force commandos and police arrived at the crime scene and began searching for the suspected attackers, while the injured victims were taken to the District Headquarters Hospital amid heavy security.

The injured were stated to be stable, and are under police protection.

The suspected shooters, including the aforementioned main suspect, his father, and his brother, were out on interim bail when they went to Miyal village in Chauntra to allegedly avenge the first murder.

On July 20, a woman was allegedly murdered by a man and his accomplices. The victims of Friday’s shooting are from the man’s family.

Police said that in addition to the main suspect, five other suspects have been arrested, and raids are underway to arrest the main suspect’s brother and father.

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2020