SAHIWAL: Dozens of men and women blocked the Sahiwal-Faisalabad road in the morning for three hours against an alleged fake encounter by Noor Shah police near village Khan Kamal 66/4-R.

The family and relatives of the deceased man, identified as Tahir Farid, said the deceased was an orphan of 15 years of age. He was going to sleep when Noor Shah police killed him in the courtyard of his house without any reason. The family claimed there was no criminal record of Tahir with any police station.

On the other hand, police claimed that Tahir was involved in a robbery. They said two robbers snatched a van and Noor Shah police tried to stop them at a picket near Chak 68/4-R but they escaped. Police followed the van and two suspects started firing at them. Police retaliated and after 15 minutes of exchange of fire, they found a suspect dead with a pistol in his hand.

The youth was later identified as Tahir Farid, a resident of the same village. Police identified his accomplice as Shahzad alias Sajjad who was wanted in robbery cases.

To calm protesters and diffuse the tension, Sahiwal Police handed over Tahir’s body to family after a post-mortem, Rana Asif Saeed of the DPO office told Dawn. He said Tahir’s age was around 19 years.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2023