FAISALABAD, Dec 15: A member of the self-styled “Imam Mehdi force” was killed and others sustained injuries in an encounter with police on the motorway on Thursday. Police later arrested 30 armed members of the cult group and recovered a huge quantity of weapons from their possession.

According to witnesses, three dozen members of the cult, some of them clad in dark maroon ‘shalwar kameez’, were spotted on Sargodha Road riding in a mini-truck, a car and two motorcycles.

They forced commuters and pedestrians at gunpoint to recite “Kalima” and threatened to kill anyone who refused to accept Imam Mehdi as their leader.

Two persons, including a man and a woman, were injured when cult members opened fire on vehicles at different spots on Sargodha Road.

Younger members of the ‘force’ beat up people and forced them to declare that Imam Mehdi had come to lead the world. The ‘person posing as Imam Mehdi’ had been camouflaged by his supporters.

Police personnel and senior officials rushed towards Sargodha Road when they received word about the movement of the group and started chasing its members.

In the meantime the group moved to the Motorway-III which links Faisalabad with Lahore and Islamabad. The group threatened to kill the staff on duty at the motorway toll booth staff if it was stopped.

Police teams encircled the cult members near the Kamalput interchange, after calling in police commandos from Hafizabad and Sheikhupura districts to their assistance. Personnel of the NHA and the Motorway Police also rushed to the spot and blocked traffic.

At that point, members of the group opened fire on police and occupied a a stranded passenger bus. They threatened to kill the passengers if the police tried to attack them.

Meanwhile, District Police Officer in Faisalabad, Muhammad Amin Wains arrived at the place with hundreds of police commandos. They tried to engage the heavily armed members of the group in a dialogue to save the lives of the passengers.

However, when their attempt failed, the police force stormed the bus. One member of the group was killed and two others and a passerby were injured. The man, who was killed, was identified as Muhammad Younus and those injured as tahir and Naveed. All bus passengers were freed unharmed.

A police spokesman said, 30 cult members were arrested and a huge quantity of weapons and ammunition were seized.