TOBA TEK SINGH: Five women and two minor boys of a family were burnt alive and four others were seriously injured on Wednesday early in the morning in a Pirmahal village when their room caught fire.

Rescue 1122 and district police spokespersons told reporters that due to rain and severe cold family members had kept a burning gas stove in their room in their house in Chak 756 GB located near Sindhillianwali. When they were asleep, the room caught fire after a gas pipe leaked. The fire was so strong that soon it reached up to the roof and fell it. When Rescue 1122 rescuers and locals succeeded to rescue them, seven of them had already died while family head Muhammad Hussain and three others received critical burn wounds.

The deceased were identified as Muhammad Hussain’s wife Sakina Bibi, 50, their daughter Mafia Bibi, 22, son Abdul Rashid, 16, daughter-in-law(his son Abdul Waheed’s wife) Azra Bibi. 35, her son Hamza, seven, and daughters Amna, five, and Afshan Bibi, 40 days. The injured who were shifted to the Pirmahal THQ hospital included Muhammad Hussain, 60, his son Hafiz Abdul Waheed, 36, his daughter Iqra, 14. and his granddaughter, Hadiqa, three. Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar condoled the tragic death of seven persons of a family of Toba district and prayed for the departed souls.

ENCOUNTER: The Fiedmic (Faisalabad Industrial Estate Development and Management Company) police allegedly killed a gunman in an encounter on Wednesday.

The police said it received information that four robbers were looting passengers and when the police chased them near a nullah located outside chak 160 RB, they started firing on the police party which was also retaliated.

The Elite force and police parties were also called from Chak Jhumra and when the encounter ended police found the body of one robber, however, others escaped. The deceased was identified as Faisal Razaq Musalli, of Chak 293 RB, who was wanted by different police stations of the district in a number of crimes. The police said the outlaw was killed by the bullets of his own accomplices.

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2022