Deadly feuds

January 12, 2025

Custodial murder of three brothers has raised questions about the role of police and justice system

Deadly feuds


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village (Chak 422 GB) located near the Ravi River in the Tandlianwala tehsil of Faisalabad, has been making headlines following the killing of three brothers in police lockup at the Tandlianwala Sadar police station on January 6.

The expansive double story mansion of the Sukhera clan, once a byword in the village for their affluence, now stands in ruins amidst the fields. The nearby dera (communal space) of the Kharal clan and its adjoining tube well lie abandoned. This spot marks the epicenter of a deadly feud between the Sukhera and Kharal clans, a conflict that has claimed eight lives over the year.

Neighbours pass by the site sadly, often warning others to avoid venturing there. The brutal killings of Bilal, Usman and Nasir, three of the four Sukhera brothers detained in the lockup are believed to be the latest chapter in the ongoing hostility. Their fourth brother, Asif, sustained injuries during the attack.

All four brothers were in police custody, accused of murdering three members of the Kharal clan in a case registered at Tandlianwala City police station. The primary suspect in the case, their fifth brother Imran, remains at large.

According to an FIR filed on October 10, the five brothers, along with seven other suspects, ambushed and killed 23-year-old Haq Nawaz and 22-year-old Maqsood, members of the Kharal clan, as they rode a motorcycle to attend a court hearing at the Tehsil Complex. A rickshaw driver, Waqar, was also killed in the crossfire. The suspects had previously been implicated in the murders of Haq Nawaz’s father, Sakhawat Ali, and his brother, Irfan.

According to an FIR registered by Tandlianwala Sadar police regarding the January 6 incident, five unidentified armed assailants entered the police station at 4:40 am on Monday by scaling the back wall using a ladder and accessing the lockup through the roof. They opened fire on the detainees in the holding cell. An on-duty guard too fired some bullets but the attackers managed to flee through the main gate. Bilal, Usman and Nasir died on the spot. Asif was injured and rushed to the hospital for medical treatment.

Following the fatal attack, the victims’ sister, accompanied by other family members, visited the police station to lodge protest. They accused the police of taking bribes from their rivals and facilitating the murder of the detained brothers. The victims’ sister criticised the police for filing an FIR against unidentified assailants and demanded that the case be registered as her complaint, identifying suspects from the rival clan.

Muhammad Asif, a local journalist, revealed that the suspects had voluntarily surrendered to the police a few days after the October 10 incident.

However, the police delayed recording their arrest, keeping them in custody for over two months before formally arresting them and obtaining their remand only a week prior to the fatal shooting.

“The police had demolished their mansion and repeatedly raided the homes of their relatives, subjecting them to harassment,” Asif said.

He said that the four brothers were to be produced in court on the morning of January 7, where they were likely to be granted bail or be sent on judicial remand. Before that could happen, their rivals attacked the police station and murdered them.

Asif said that although they had been charged in a case registered at Tandlianwala City police station, they were being detained at Tandlianwala Sadar police station instead.

“The two police stations share a boundary wall. If this transfer was made for security reasons or due to a threat to the suspects’ lives, there should have been more guards or enhanced security measures in place. This incident represents a major security lapse,” he said.

The feud between the Sukhera and Kharal clans reportedly began in 2023 when the Kharal family installed a tube well on their two-kanal land opposite the Sukhera mansion.

Deadly feuds


“So far, five members of the Kharal family have been killed in this feud, leaving only two young men in their household. Most of the men from the Sukhera family have fled the area, leaving only women behind in their homes.”

“The Sukhera clan was unhappy because they had spent a significant amount of money to connect their farmhouse to the main electricity line, while the Kharal family took advantage of the infrastructure to install a tube well on their land at a much lower cost,” Asif explained.

This resentment escalated into frequent altercations between the two families. The tension peaked when the Sukhera family murdered Sakhawat Ali of the Kharal clan and his son, Irfan.

“So far, five to six members of the Kharal family have been killed in this feud, leaving only two young men in their household. Most of the men from the Sukhera family have fled the area, leaving only women behind in their homes,” Asif said.

According to City Police Officer Kamran Adil, several teams led by the Senior Superintendent of Police (Investigation) were formed to apprehend the culprits involved in the incident. Some of the suspects have already been detained and are being interrogated and raids are being conducted to locate the others.

Regional Police Officer Dr Muhammad Abid has conducted a preliminary inquiry and suspended eight police officers and men for negligence. Those suspended from service include former station house officers (SHOs) of Tandlianwala City police station, Inspector Basharat Ali and Sub-Inspector Pervez Khalid; Investigation Officer Inspector Imran Sarwar; SHO of Tandlianwala Sadar Police Station, Sub-Inspector Mubashir Hussain; and Head Constables Naeem Hassan, Nauman Riaz, and Constable Muhammad Usman.

Inspector General of Punjab Police Dr Usman Anwar has taken notice of the incident and formed a high-level inquiry committee headed by Special Branch’s DIG Faisal Ali Raja. The committee also includes AIG (Operations) Zahid Nawaz Marwat and AIG (Complaints) Ehsanullah Chauhan. The inquiry committee has arrived in Faisalabad and initiated its investigation. Its findings have yet to be released.

It is worth noting that this is not the first incident of its kind in Faisalabad. In August 2009, a similar attack had occurred when Sheikh Muhammad Naeem, a suspect in a murder and robbery case, was killed in the lockup of Kotwali police station. The assailant, Mirza Irshad Baig, had shot Naeem to avenge the murders of his brothers, Mirza Aslam Baig and Mirza Dilshad Baig. He had later surrendered to the police.

The 2009 incident had followed a brutal robbery in August 2003, where Naeem, the mastermind, and his accomplices had ambushed a vehicle carrying Mirza Aslam Baig, Mirza Dilshad Baig and their two security guards. The group was on their way from their home to a shop when the attackers killed all four men and looted prize bonds worth Rs 20 million.

In his confession after the 2009 killing, Irshad Baig stated that he had lost faith in the police and the justice system. That was the reason, he said, he had taken the mattersinto his own hands.

Advocate Mian Muhammad Ali, a member of the Faisalabad District Bar, says that several suspects brought to the district courts for hearings over the past year have been killed or injured in similar attacks.

“The root cause of this issue lies in the lack of fair investigations by the police and the long delays in court cases, which often drag on for years,” he said. “People have lost trust in the justice system. Many think that suspects can bribe their way to freedom,” he said.

He noted that in rural areas, even minor disputes are often escalated into a matter of pride. Rather than resolving conflicts, friends and relatives tend to fuel the tension, which sometimes leads to extreme actions like murder.

“Our former president, Naveed Mukhtar Ghumman, was murdered two years ago while travelling from his home to the district courts. His only fault was pursuing the cases of some members of his family who had been killed over long standing enmity,” he added.

He said recurrence of such incidents highlighted the failure of law enforcement agencies to perform their duties effectively.

“If we are to prevent such incidents in the future, it is imperative to improve both the police and the criminal justice system,” he said.


The writer has been associated with journalism for the past decade. He tweets @naeemahmad876

Deadly feuds