SAHIWAL: Qaboola (Arifwala) police killed two outlaws in an `encounter’ while their two accomplices succeeded in escaping near Sabzi Mandi on Sunday night.

Zaman Rasheed, SHO of Qaboola Police Station, told Dawn both the killed dacoits were involved in the murder of a local shopkeeper Tariq on January 30. He said Tariq was shot by the outlaws when he put up resistance.

He said a gang of four armed dacoits looted a house in Ward-4 in Qaboola. When the family contacted 15, police teams chased the fleeing outlaws.

Near Sabzi Mandi, dacoits riding two on motorcycles fired at a police mobile van. “Police retaliated.

After 20 minutes of firing, police found two bodies on the road. The SHO identified them as Majid, a resident of Farid Shah village and Ahmed Yar.

Pakpattan DPO Tariq Walayat told Dawn relatives of deceased Tariq had identified the killed dacoits.

Police sent the bodies to the Rural Health Center of Qaboola for autopsy.

Locomotive: Some unknown people stoned a locomotive near the Chichawatni rail crossing on Saturday night.

The driver stopped the train but the trouble makers disappeared. The driver informed the railway police which registered the case under the Railways Act.

It is said the driver sustained a minor injury.

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2024