JHANG-Three persons were gunned down and 22 others sustained bullet injuries in crossfire between two groups over a land dispute here on Friday.
The incident occurred in Tiba Sultan Bahoo in the remit of Garh Maharaja Police in tehsil Ahmedpur Sial.
The police said that supporters of Muneeb Sultan, Sajjada Nasheen of the Shrine of Sultan Bahoo and his closed relatives belonging to Habib Sultan group, clashed over the ownership of a property near Garh Maharaja locality.
In the crossfire, a man identified as 40-year-old Syed Maqbool Hussain was killed on the spot while 24 others sustained gunshot wounds. Rescue 1122 shifted the injured to THQ Hospital Ahmadpur Sial and THQ Hospital Shorkot. However, two of the injured identified as 50-year-old Baba Master and 32-year-old Liaqat Ali succumbed to their wounds in the Shorkot hospital. Four of the injured persons whose condition was critical were referred to Allied Hospital Faisalabad and four others were sent to Nishtar Hospital Multan.
A heavy contingent of police rushed to the scene and brought the situation under control. The police said that the reason behind the incident is a land dispute and that both the groups have been locked in the dispute since long.
The police have registered a case against the armed men of both groups involved in the firing and started an investigation.

‘Toy’ kills boy

JHANG- A 12-year-old boy was killed while playing with a ‘toy bomb’ here in Mauza Kolar in the remit of Qadirpur Police on Friday.
The incident prompted a search operation by the Counter-Terrorism Department and the police. According to the police, the boy identified as 12-year-old Saood, son of Khalid Sheik, a resident of Mauza Kolar was going on the bank of a canal. Suddenly, he found a bag having some ‘iron material.’ He took the bag to his home where upon search he found an ‘iron ball’ from it. As he hit the ‘iron ball,’ it blasted with a big bang, killing him on the spot.
CTD SEARCH OPERATION
Following the incident, personnel the counter-Terrorism department and the police rushed to the spot and carried out a search operation. During combing of the area, the CTD found two hand grenades, wires and 10 electronic detonators.
Further investigation is underway.