SAHIWAL, Aug 5: Panic gripped the district court premises when 15 armed people opened fire on a couple who had contracted love marriage and were allowed on Saturday by a court to live as husband and wife.

The attackers while fleeing the scene abducted a friend of the couple.

Reports said the parents of Mumtaz Bibi and Umar Hayat of Chak 52/GD had decided their marriage in their childhood. To make the decision binding, the two were engaged at that time.

However, when Mumtaz Bibi attained the age of puberty, her parents refused to marry her with her fiancé. Finding it hard to convince their respective families for their marriage, the couple resorted to elopement. They got married on June 1, 2006, and started living at Chak 95/D, near Pakpattan.

Later, Mumtaz Bibi’s parents approached her and urged that she should return to them claiming that they wanted to recognize her marriage in a `proper way’. She succumbed to their repeated `requests’ and returned to her family home.

But, once she was back, Mumtaz was subjected to severe physical torture by her relatives and was detained in the house.

When her husband came to know about the situation, he moved the district and sessions court for the recovery of his wife. The judge ordered the area police to produce Mumtaz Bibi in the court. The police did accordingly, and the court allowed her to go with her husband.

As soon as the couple came out of the courtroom, about 15 armed people opened fire on them. The couple took refuge in the chamber of a lawyer, Advocate Qutbuddin, to save their lives. Fortunately, nobody got hurt in the fire.

On police arrival, the accused fled the scene but not without abducting a friend of Umar Hayat, Yusaf Abdullah.

However, the police claimed to have arrested eight of the accused and recovered a car (SLO-4645) and four illicit guns, allegedly used in the crime.

ROBBERY: Robbers deprived a medical officer and an irrigation department employee of cash and valuables.