‘Bullets whizzed past us as we took cover’

SOME LOCALS CLAIMED THAT A FIFTH MAN, A LOCAL SHOPKEEPER, WAS SHOT IN THE LEG, A CLAIM THAT WAS DENIED BY THE POLICE

National Market, which is located adjacent to a posh colony in Paschim Vihar and is situated barely 500 metres from Mianwali police station, is usually bustling with activity late into the night. Sunday night’s shooting — that left three men dead — however, has left visitors and local businessmen shaken.

They said Sunday night’s firing was straight out of an action film. “Bullets were whizzing past us all around. We hid under roadside stalls and inside shops to save our lives,” said Monty, a local resident.

Eyewitnesses they first noticed the incident playing out after hearing gunfire. The first targets were the two friends of Bhupender alias Monu, a man with a criminal background. The motorcycle-borne men showered bullets at them, killing one at the spot. “The other man (Yogesh) escaped, even though the assailants chased and shot at him,” said Monty.

The killers then turned towards Monu and kept shooting at him till he was killed. Eight holes in the car’s bonnet stood testimony to the brutal assault.

“Their job done, the attackers then pointed their gun towards the owner of a restaurant and ordered him to down shutters. They then sped away while firing in the air,” said Chirag Shokeen, a local who was in the market at the time of the incident.

On Monday, when local shopkeepers came to open their shops, they found bullet marks on their shutters and stalls. “Fortunately, most shops were already shut when the attack happened,” said Kamlesh, a local vendor.