GUJRAT: Police claim to have traced eight suspects belonging to a student group involved in the murder of a second-year student and injuries to another in the firing incident near Rehmania Bridge.

“At least five of the suspects have been arrested by the police whereas three main suspects, who were actually involved in resorting to the firing at the college bus, are yet to be arrested,” said an official of the local police while talking to Dawn on Tuesday.

A spokesman for Gujrat Police said the student, Laraib Doga, a resident of Jaura Karnana village, was killed and another Zainul Abedin Butt of Dinga was wounded in the attack on their college bus on Oct 24. A case was lodged against unidentified suspects with the Rehmania Police Station.

Police had identified at least eight suspects involved in the incident and at least five suspects, namely Waleed Anwar, a resident of Kalara Khasa, Hafiz Abdul Rehman and Mataal Minhaas, residents of Lalamusa, Ameer Hamza of Mehsam and Raja Adeel of Bhota, had been arrested whereas police had also recovered clubs and iron rods used in the incident by these suspects.

However, three suspects, namely Khizer Cheema of Makka Colony, Saim Shah of Hassam Rasulpur and Talha Farooq of Jaura, are still at large.

All the five arrested suspects have already been sent to the Gujrat District Jail on judicial remand.

interviews: The PML-N has started interviewing candidates for the award of party tickets in Gujrat district for the general election as the party’s district coordination committee on Tuesday conducted interviews of at least two dozen aspirants of the party tickets.

The three-member committee consists of former federal minister Saira Afzal Tarrar, party’s district president Tahirul Mulk and former mayor Haji Nasir Mahmood.

The party will select candidates for at least four national and eight Punjab Assembly constituencies of the district.

Those who appeared for interviews included Nawabzada Ghazanfar Ali Gul, Malik Jameel Awan, Jaafar Iqbal Fatta Bhand, Shabeer Kotla, Nawabzada Haider Mehdi, Moin Nawaz Warraich, Mian Tariq Mehmood Dinga, Tanveer Kotla, Naseer Abbas Sidh, Aleemullah Warraich, Raza Warraich Matta, Mian Sher Afgan, Saifur Rehman Bhatti, Amjad Farooq, Javed Butt, Waqar Ayub Butt, Ali Warraich and Naeem Akhtar.

It is learnt that after initial working the committee will forward its recommendations to the senior party leadership for consideration for the award of party tickets.

Published in Dawn, November 29th, 2023