Couple shot dead over land dispute

FAISALABAD: A man and his wife were shot dead in Faisalabad in what police described as an attack linked to a land dispute involving the man’s brother and other suspects.

Police said the incident took place in Chak No 272-RB within the limits of Thikriwala police station. The victims were identified as 40-year-old Sajid Yousaf and his 32-year-old wife, Rozia Salamat Bibi. According to investigators, both were asleep at their farmhouse when armed suspects entered during the night and opened fire on them. Police said the couple died at the scene.

Police register case against five suspects

Authorities shifted the bodies to hospital for postmortem examination and registered a case under charges of double murder and abetment to murder. Police nominated five suspects in the case, including Sajid’s brother Abid, Abid’s wife Khalida Bibi, their son Sarim and two unidentified accomplices.

The first information report was lodged on the complaint of Basharat Ali, the brother of the deceased woman. According to the FIR, family members told police that the suspects arrived at the farmhouse on motorcycles and carried out the shooting because of the ongoing property dispute.

Police said Sajid had been involved in a land dispute with his brother Abid, nephew Sarim and sister-in-law Khalida Bibi. Investigators alleged that the named suspects were accompanied by unidentified accomplices when they entered the farmhouse and fired on the couple.

Initial claim challenged after investigation

Police said the main suspect initially tried to divert the investigation by informing officers that Sajid had first killed his wife and then taken his own life. However, after a preliminary inquiry, investigators concluded that the deaths were the result of a double murder.

The suspects fled after the attack, police said. A search and investigation were launched after officers reached the scene.

Senior officers visit crime scene

Upon receiving information about the killings, SP Iqbal Town Chaudhry Saeed Ahmad, DSP Sadar Khuda Bakhsh, acting SHO Ali Imran Jappa and other police officials arrived at the farmhouse and began the investigation.

Police said the case includes allegations of murder and abetment to murder against the nominated suspects. The investigation is continuing to trace those who escaped after the shooting.

The incident adds to a series of violent crimes in Punjab linked to family and property disputes, with police in this case saying the attack stemmed from an ongoing disagreement over land ownership within the family.