FAISALABAD, Dec 20: Nearly seven weeks after losing two sons and a nephew, a dejected couple dared to speak publicly against the police and said all boys, including two of their friends, were killed in a staged encounter on Oct 26.

Five people, two brothers and one of their cousins, and two other cousins were killed in this encounter. The victims were Arif Butt, his younger brother Zarak alias Zaki Butt, Ali Nawaz (cousin), Shakeel and Hamid (cousins) were killed by police in an 'encounter' that took place in Liaqatabad in the wee hours of Oct 26.

Police said seven robbers' looted cash from a midway CNG station, owned by a former union council nazim Anjum Niaz, situated on Jhang Road, and escaped with cash at around 3:40am.

A case was registered against them with Jhang Bazaar police just a few hours after the incident. Section 324 (attempt to murder) had been included in the case, though none of the policemen sustained injury in the shootout.

However, parents of Butt brothers were not ready to accept the police version. Ghulam Shabbir Butt, father of Zaki and Arif, said the CNG station owner had quarreled with Zaki and Arif just a few days before Eidul Fitr and scores of people had witnessed this incident. Owing to this, he said the owner managed police, created a hype against his sons and got them eliminated.

The police said it traded fire with the alleged robbers for an hour in which five of them were killed while two others managed their escape.

Shabbir Butt said if his sons were criminals, police should have registered cases against them and took them to courts. He said under which law the police had been killing people in staged encounters rather than seeking courts' assistance for awarding them punishment. Dawn

Shabbir's wife told they had actually lost five people of their family as Arif's wife along with her minor son and daughter had returned to her parents.

A police officer requesting anonymity said the police lacked skill and patience to deal with criminals and preferred to wipe them out in encounters. He confirmed that Zaki and Hamid had been detained at the Gulberg police station and were interrogated.

He said the police had been after Zaki since he was involved in dacoity-murders and injured a civil judge of Lahore during a robbery bid. However, the other victims were not wanted by police.

A judicial inquiry into the case has been initiated with its first hearing due on Tuesday (today).

Shabbir Butt was, however, unaware of the judicial inquiry and said no body had summoned them for evidence.

The police claimed the encounter was genuine and that those killed were hardened criminals. Dawn

also managed to contact family members of Shakeel in Lahore. One of his relatives requesting anonymity said Shakeel was in Lahore a day before the encounter as he worked as a supervisor in a printing press. He said the boy had no history of involvement in any criminal activity.

He said Shakeel visited Faisalabad after receiving a call from his cousin Hamid. He rejected the police claim of robbery at the CNG station.