LAHORE: A guard at a car showroom in Defence Housing Authority allegedly injured four passersby, including two children, during a dispute with a rickshaw driver on Wednesday.

The injured are Awais (4), Razaq (5), Zeshan (17) and an unidentified man. They were shifted to a local hospital, where the condition of one of the victims is reported to be serious.

According to a police official, guard Waqar Ali had an altercation with the rickshaw driver regarding the parking of his three-wheeler in front of the showroom. Following the heated exchange, Waqar allegedly opened fire indiscriminately, injuring the four passersby.

The police arrested Waqar in a case of attempted murder and recovered the pump-action gun used in the incident.

Shot dead: Scores of people blocked Canal Road near Fatehgarh on Wednesday in protest against the police for failing to arrest the gunmen who allegedly shot dead a man and injured his son.

The protesters placed the body of 49-year-old Naveed Ahmad on the road, bringing traffic to a standstill, while chanting slogans against the police.

Hundreds of vehicles were stuck in the traffic jam for hours. Traffic was diverted to narrow streets, which were already congested, worsening the situation.

The protesters stated that the incident occurred at Bhattyan Wali Pulli, where suspects, including Huzaifa, Naseer and Umar, had a heated exchange with Mohammad Bilal, the son of the deceased.

They claimed that the armed men later attacked Bilal, injuring him, and when his father Naveed came to his rescue, the suspects opened fire, injuring both. The attackers fled the scene.

The injured were rushed to a local hospital, where Naveed succumbed to his bullet wounds.

Protesters blamed the police for their delayed response to the emergency call. They also accused the armed men of having strong connections within the Harbanspura police and demanded action from senior police officials to arrest the suspects and hold the police accountable.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2024