LAKKI MARWAT: Bodies of two persons were found in the fields near Esakkhel and Zangikhel villages on the outskirts of the Lakki city on Monday, police said. They named the victims as Mirza Ali Khan and Abdul Salam.

Amanullah of Esakkhel village told the police that Mirza Ali had gone to fields in the morning, but did not return. Later, he was found lying in a pool of blood, he said, adding spent bullet casings were also lying on the crime scene. He said the body was shifted to the government city hospital.

Separately, body of Salam was found near Zangikhel. Mohammad Hamad, the deceased’s son, told the police that unknown persons had booked his car on Sunday. “On Monday morning, we were informed that body of Abdul Salam was lying in the fields,” he maintained, saying it was shifted to hospital for postmortem.

Police registered separate cases against unidentified killers and began investigations.

Meanwhile, the police on Monday arrested two cattle thieves in the Lakki city and seized stolen goats, weapons and a car from them. An official said the arrests were made near the cattle market as the thieves had brought the stolen cattle there to sell them. He said Sajid and Kifayatullah had stolen three goats of Shafiullah near Nawerkhel village.

Also, Bannu division commissioner Shaukat Ali Yousafzai on Monday inspected proposed sites of the cadet college near the Bannu city. On the occasion, he said a feasible site would be selected for establishment of the college. He said the administration had fulfilled all formalities to initiate construction work on the project.

The divisional commissioner said establishment of the college would enable the students to get quality education near their homes.

Mr Yousafzai also paid surprise visits to several private schools to check implementation of Covid-19-induced SOPs. He directed the managements to maintain social distancing in classrooms. He warned the administration would seal the educational institutions if relevant protocols were not implemented.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2020