FAISALABAD, Dec 5: Gulberg police have failed to arrest four accused in the murder case of a local cleric and his son despite lapse of over a fortnight and are allegedly supporting them.

Reports said six armed people, led by Muhammad Ishaq, attacked the house of Maulvi Ismail at Awami Colony and killed him along with his son Mukhtar Ahmed over a trifle on Nov 15. Five people had sustained injuries in the incident.

"The accused managed to get interim bail from the court because of the lenient treatment being meted out by police to the criminals," an employee of the Gulberg police station requesting anonymity said.

He said main accused Ishaq had been booked under section 324 of the Pakistan Penal Code despite killing the son of Maulvi Ismail.

Substantiating his claims, he said when the incident took place scores of people informed the police about the role of Ishaq in the killing and injuring of people. "However, now he is being exonerated from the charges owing to some unknown reasons," the official said.

He said the police had nothing to do with the arrest of two accused as the family members had produced them.

Some area people told this correspondent that interim bails of the accused had disturbed them and nobody would dare register statement against them. They said after securing interim bails, the accused were sitting in bazaars. A shopkeeper of the Gulistan Cinema Road requesting anonymity said Ishaq had approached traders and forced them to apprise the police that “I (Ishaq) have nothing to do with the killings.”

When contacted Gulberg investigation in-charge Mian Zahid denied the allegations that the police were helping the accused party. He said they had been granted pre-arrest bail till Dec 7 and after expiry of the period police would try to get their bail orders cancelled.

He said any accused could get bail notwithstanding killing of a dozen people. “However justice will be done to all,” Mr Zahid said.