SAHIWAL: A landlord ploughed his tractor into a woman, critically injuring her, after she forbade him from damaging her crops at village 46/EB, Arifwala tehsil, on Monday morning.

Pakpattan DPO Iqbal Chadhar took swift and the police arrested landlord, Muhammad Aslam. The police also booked his three sons -- Tanveer, Pervaiz, and Touqeer -- along with Muhammad Aslam himself, under sections 324, 337(f), and 34, of the Pakistan Penal Code on a complaint filed by the victim’s nephew, Ali Shan.

Reports said Ali Shan and his aunt Shamshad Bibi were inspecting their wheat crop as part of their routine when they found Muhammad Aslam and his sons crossing the field with a tractor, causing damage to the crops. Ali Shan and his aunt strongly objected and reminded them that they had been warned previously not to cross the fields with a tractor. This led to a heated argument.

During the confrontation, Muhammad Aslam asked one of his sons to run over Shamshad Bibi with the tractor. Aslam overpowered Ali Shan while his son carried out the act. Another of Aslam’s sons recorded the incident on his mobile phone.

Local villagers intervened and stopped the perpetrators from further harming the woman. Shamshad Bibi was rushed to the hospital for treatment, and the incident was reported to the Saddar Police in Arifwala. The police have also recovered the video footage from the mobile phone as evidence.

COUSINS INJURED: Two cousins were shot at and injured by their rivals in Hayatabad Bazar, Chichawatni, on Sunday night.

Rescue 1122 shifted the critically injured victims to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital, Chichawatni. The city police registered a case under sections 149, 148, and 324 of PPC against seven suspects on a complaint filed by Ali Asghar, the elder brother of one of the victims.

Reports said a dispute had arisen between Ali Abbas and Muhammad Yousaf in village 36/12-L a few weeks ago. Although the matter was taken to the local village Panchayat and resolved amicably, Yousaf was reportedly dissatisfied with the decision.

On Sunday night, as Ali Abbas and Atif Baloch were returning home from work and stopped to buy cigarettes at a tuck shop in the busy bazaar, Yousaf and six other armed men intercepted them and opened fire.

The assailants managed to flee the scene. However, police sources confirmed that two of the suspects, Muhammad Yousaf and Hasan Shah, have been arrested.

ACCIDENT: A passenger died and three others were critically injured when a Lahore-bound AC bus crashed into a motorway police reservation centre, breaking the fence and outer boundary wall near Yousafwala on Monday morning.

Motorway police sources added the accident was caused by heavy fog. Passenger Muhammad Ramzan died on the spot, while Zafar Abbas, Ibrahim, and Irshad sustained critical injuries. All the passengers belong to Dera Ghazi Khan.

Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2025

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