2 students killed in Faisalabad police ‘encounter’

FAISALABAD: Two college students were killed in an alleged encounter with Millat Town police here on Wednesday night. According to the police, Arslan Liaqat and Usman Munawar were friends and had been residing in Muslim Town No-3 on Sargodha Road since long. On Wednesday night, Arslan and Usman were going to a restaurant for dinner when a police party, which was on duty, signaled them to stop at Baghwali Pulli. Instead of stopping, Arslan and Usman allegedly opened fire on the police, which was retaliated by them. As a result, the two students were seriously injured. They were shifted to the Allied Hospital where they succumbed to injuries.

On receiving information of the incident, parents of Arslan and Usman along with a large number of residents of the area rushed to the hospital and staged a demonstration in front of its main gate. They also blocked the road by burning tyres. They were chanting slogans against the Millat Town police. They have demanded immediate arrest of the policemen involved in the incident. According to families of the deceased, Usman and Arslan had recently completed secondary school.

The former was the son of Head Constable Munawar and had secured 960 out of 1050 marks in matric examinations. Both deceased did not have any criminal record. The police have registered a case against the deceased’s students under different sections, including 353 and 324 of the PPC, and the Punjab Arms Act on the report of ASI Javed Akhtar and started investigation.

Meanwhile, City Police Officer (CPO) Ashfaq Ahmad Khan has ordered an inquiry into the police encounter. He has also constituted a three-member committee comprising SSP (Operations) Haider Sultan, Madina Town SP Asif Amin Awan and the Nishatabad DSP and directed it to submit the report to him in the next 24 hours.