LAHORE: A young woman was killed in crossfire between two different factions in the Shahdara district, and the police are accused of trashing the scene and charging demonstrators with batons on Monday, including women.
The demonstrators, who were yelling anti-police chants, said that Ayesha Nazir, 24, had been shot after a shoot-out between two opposing gangs that had been using the area as a shooting range for a long time.
They said that the local police ignored the numerous concerns from the community against the competing armed gangs, which led to the young woman’s death.
They claimed that after a fight broke out, Ayesha was on her way to the market when the members of the opposing factions opened fire on one another, killing her when a bullet struck her.
The townspeople requested punishment against those accountable for the incident, claiming that the woman’s death was caused by a delayed response from the police.
There was a severe traffic backup on the main road for several hours due to the protesters’ blockade.
Witnesses report that a big contingent of police officers, under the leadership of the relevant DSP, arrived at the scene and engaged in negotiations with the demonstrators in an attempt to persuade them to give way to traffic. Still, the demonstrators would not budge.
The police used a baton to charge the demonstrators, including women, in an attempt to disperse them when the dialogue failed.
Later, after promising to take action against those accountable for the woman’s murder, the police hierarchy interacted with the local elders and succeeded in scattering the demonstrators.
The police sent teams to capture the armed males who used gunfire, and they moved the woman’s body to the municipal morgue for an examination.
