LAKKI MARWAT: Mobile van of the Lakki Marwat city police station narrowly escaped a bomb blast here on Monday.

An official said unknown miscreants had planted an improvised explosive device under a culvert on the Old Kutchery Road to target a police patrolling party. He said the area where the bomb was planted was at a stone’s throw from the city police station and the tehsil building housing offices of assistant and additional assistant commissioners.

“It was an attempt to blow up a police van,” the official said, adding the IED went off with a bang moments after the police van passed over the culvert. He said a patrol party led by additional SHO Abdul Saboor Khan was onboard the van, who remained unhurt in the attack.

The official said after the explosion a police contingent and experts of bomb disposal squad reached the place to collect evidence. The police launched a search operation in the surrounding areas to arrest the culprits.

Meanwhile, a man was killed at a wedding function in Top Takhtikhel village near Naurang town on Monday.

The police said Akhtar Nawaz shot dead Asal Khan, 34, over a petty dispute and escaped. They said the deceased along with other relatives had gone to the village in a wedding procession of his brother.

The body was shifted to a hospital in Naurang town, they added.

Mir Shah Khan, father of the deceased, told the police that when the bride sat in a car, the accused, Akhtar Nawaz came there and insisted he would drive the vehicle. The complainant said his son, Asal Khan came there and argued with the accused, but the latter got furious and opened fire with a repeater gun, killing his son on the spot.

The police the body was handed over to relatives after fulfilling medico-legal formalities in hospital.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2023