GUJRAT: Two cousins were gunned down by a youth over enmity in a cricket ground at Behlolpur village in Tanda police precincts on Sunday.

As per police sources, Zain Ali (22) and his cousin Ali Shan (23) were playing cricket in the ground near the local bus stand when they had a brief altercation with Azaan, who, along with his accomplices, later opened fire on them, leaving the both dead on the spot.

The sources said the suspect had also shot at the two cousins after a quarrel around a year ago, but they survived the attack. The area elders had intervened and arranged a reconciliation between them.

On being informed of the incident, teams of police and Rescue 1122 reached the spot and shifted the bodies to the Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Teaching Hospital (ABSTH). After the postmortem examination, the bodies were handed over to the families of the deceased youths.

A team of the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) also visited the crime scene and collected evidence.

The police have registered the case against the suspect and started investigation.

Following the incident, dozens of people, including the families and relatives of the deceased cousins, staged a protest demonstration against the double murder.

The protesters blocked the Gujrat-Sialkot and Azad Kashmir roads by burning tyres and demanded immediate arrest of the suspects.

The participants chanted slogans against the police for their failure in arresting the suspects.

A police official said raiding parties were constituted to arrest the nominated suspects, claiming that two of them have been arrested.

WOMAN SHOT DEAD: A man allegedly shot his wife dead over a domestic issue at Miyonwal village in Tanda police precincts.

The police sources said the suspect, Asif, opened fire on his wife Ansa Bibi after a verbal clash. She died instantly.

The suspect fled the scene, while the police later shifted the woman’s body to the ABSTH where doctors conducted autopsy.

The police have registered a case against the suspect and started investigation.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2025