LAHORE – Families of four young men killed in a Muzaffargarh police encounter last week have demanded justice, claiming their relatives were executed in a staged operation linked to the kidnapping of a TikTok vlogger’s father.
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Police said suspects Naveed, Jamshaid, Muddassir, and Saleem were killed during a raid in the Thal desert on November 22. The operation aimed to recover Sadiq Hussain Malana, father of TikToker Muhammad Shehzad Malana, popularly known as Vella Munda, who had been abducted from his home on November 16.
While police maintain the raid was conducted in self-defence, the families of Saleem and Jamshaid alleged that the men had been arrested earlier and killed while in custody. They claimed that SHOs from Kot Addu city and Chowk Sarwar Shaheed police stations were involved and demanded a judicial commission to investigate the incident.
Appealing from abroad, Vella Munda had earlier urged the chief minister to secure his father’s safe recovery and pleaded with the kidnappers for his release. Police later claimed that during the operation, one suspect escaped while the others opened fire on officers, leading to their deaths.
Muzaffargarh District Police Officer Syed Ghazanfar Shah rejected allegations of a fake encounter, stating that the suspects were involved in kidnapping and had demanded a Rs50 million ransom. He added that they were found with a hand grenade and had links to banned organisations.
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The DPO also presented three men who had recently been rescued from the Katcha area after abductions, underscoring that the operation was part of ongoing efforts to curb kidnappings. He accused the families of levelling allegations to protect other accomplices and vowed to continue pursuing remaining suspects.