GUJRAT: A 14-year-old boy murdered a middle-age man allegedly following an argument over a sectarian issue at Chak Chohdo village in Kunjah police precincts on Sunday.

According to local sources, the teenager, Rehan, son of a prayer leader of a village mosque, allegedly had a brief altercation over a sectarian issue with Syed Nazeer Hussain Shah, a resident of the same village.

Following the row, the boy repeatedly stabbed the victim with a knife and fled the scene, they say. The injured man was shifted to the Kunjah Tehsil Headquarters (THQ) Hospital in a critical condition, where he later succumbed to his wounds.

Doctors conducted the autopsy and handed over the body to the victim’s family.

A team of the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) also collected evidence from the crime scene. A case has been registered against three suspects — Rehan, his uncle and father — under sections 302, 34 and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of Shabeer Hussain Shah, a brother of the deceased.

Local and police sources say that the prime suspect seems to be a religious fanatic.

A spokesman for Gujrat police, however, says that raids are being conducted to arrest the suspects and the motive behind the crime would only be ascertained after their interrogation.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2024