BAHAWALNAGAR: A man allegedly killed a woman and committed suicide after she rejected his marriage proposal in Faqirwali on Monday.

According to police, Nasir Ali, 25, of Chak 107/6R, sought the hand of Kausar, 20, of Chak 41/3R. When the woman’s parents refused the proposal, Nasir started forcing Kausar to contract court marriage.

They said she was not ready for it and she advised him to wait until her family allowed her to marry him. They said that on the day of the incident when Kausar was cutting fodder in the fields, Nasir came over there and again pressured her for free-will marriage.

They both had arguments when Nasir fired shots at Kausar and killed her. He later killed himself by shooting in his temple.

No one from the families of both sides approached the police, sources added.

Rescue 1122 said they rushed to the scene after getting information but they found the couple dead on arrival.

PROTEST: Scores of residents of village Chopalia staged a protest against Mandi Sadiq Ganj police for allegedly favouring influential landlords, who humiliated a poor family after kidnapping and taking them hostages and also ruined their millet crops during an attempt of land grabbing two weeks ago.

Farmer Muneer Ahmad told reporters that he bought four acres adjacent to the land of an influential landlord Shah Rasool.

He said the landlord started pressurising him to sell the land at cheap rates.

He said that late on Sept 28, Shah Rasool along with dozens of their goons barged into his house and started aerial firing.

He said the attackers kidnapped him and his family and held them hostage at a nearby outhouse of Shah Rasool and humiliated them there for hours.

In the meanwhile, the attackers looted valuables from his house and demolished it, he alleged.

He said landlord’s goons also ruined his standing millet crop. Later, scores of locals, who gathered at the spot, resisted and called 15 for police help. He said the locals also rescued him and his family from illegal confinement of the landlord and informed the police.

He alleged that on Sept 29, although police registered a case against 19 people, however, the sections relating to looting, abduction and taking the family hostage were not included in the FIR.

He alleged that on Oct 7, police called him at a Panchayat and threw him behind bars by levelling the charge of quarrelling with his opponent at the police station.

He alleged when he was in the lockup, the landlords again tried to occupy his land in the presence of police officials, including Mandi Sadiq Ganj SHO, but they had to flee when media persons and locals arrived at the scene. SHO Shafiqur Rahman and the PRO to the DPO chose not to pick call for comment.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2021