BAHAWALPUR: At least nine people were killed in Sadiqabad city in Punjab’s Rahim Yar Khan district after a group of armed assailants riding three motorbikes stormed two petrol stations.
District Police Officer (DPO) Asad Sarfraz told reporters that several people were also injured in the incident on Sunday. He said the attackers suspected some of the deceased of being police informers, adding that at least six members of the gang had been killed in a clash with police a few months ago.
The attackers, who shared the same community with the deceased, suspected that their accomplices had been killed after a tip-off by the victims of today’s attack, Asad added.
It was earlier that the gunmen opened indiscriminate fire at two petrol pumps, resulting in the immediate death of eight people and injuring one person. The victims have been identified as Ghulam Nabi, Nazir Ahmed, Pir Baksh, Zaheer, Sharif, Dawood, Malik Munawar, and Farooq.
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Police said an investigation is being conducted into the incident and a search operation is being carried out to arrest the suspects. The families of the victims have blamed the gang for the incident, alleging that its leader Jan Muhammad was responsible for the attack. The family also staged a protest along with the bodies and demanded the authorities to immediately arrest the culprits.
Inspector General Police (IG) Punjab also took notice of the incident and directed the RPO Bahawalpur to submit a detailed report. Chief Minister Usman Buzdar also took notice and directed to immediately arrest the suspects and provide medical facilities to the injured.
