A youth was gunned down by opponents in Kotla Nasir area of Kot Mithan for marrying the woman of his choice, police said on Saturday. According to sources, there was a rivalry between two communities – Chaki and Darzi. Muhammad Habib, who belonged to the Chaki community, had married a girl of Darzi community of his own free will a month ago. The youth was living at his relative's house in Kotla Nasir after marriage.

The woman’s family, on the other hand, had harboured grudge against the couple for contracting free-will marriage and ever since they had been waiting for an opportunity to teach the boy a lesson. Finally, the assailants found a chance and barged into the house of the youth and opened fire at him. Eyewitnesses said that the victim was shot twice in stomach with a 30-bore pistol.

The accused fled away from the scene after committing the crime. Kot Mithan Sadar police rushed to the crime scene as soon as the incident was reported and transported the body to the hospital for an autopsy. The police cited that the murder is an offshoot of a long-standing enmity between the two communities which grew even worse after couple’s marriage. The assailants will be apprehended soon as police are carrying out raids to find them.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP