Amir Sarfaraz Tamba, an accused in the murder of Sarabjit Singh, the Indian death row prisoner in Pakistan, was attacked by unidentified gunmen in Lahore on Sunday.
Though some media reports claimed that Tamba was killed in the attack, Pakistan daily Dawn quoting some officials said he was alive but critically injured.
Tamba was attacked by motorcycle-borne assailants at his residence in Sanant Nagar, a thickly populated area of old Lahore, and rushed to a hospital.
Police have registered an FIR against two unidentified assailants on the complaint of Tamba's younger brother Junaid Sarfraz.
According to the FIR, Sarfraz said he and his elder brother Tamba were present at home when the attack took place.
“I was present at the ground floor while Tamba was at the upper portion. The main gate of the house was open. Two unidentified motorcyclists - one wearing a helmet and the other a facemask - entered the house at 12.40 pm Sunday and moved towards the upper portion.
“They fired three shots and fled from the scene. I rushed to the upper floor and found Tamba in a pool of blood,” Junaid said in his complaint.
Nearly 11 years ago, Sarabjit Singh (49), was brutally assaulted by inmates inside the high-security Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore.
Tamba and his accomplice Mudassar - two Pakistani death row prisoners - had attacked Singh.
He lay comatose for nearly a week and on May 2, 2013, died of cardiac arrest in a hospital in Lahore.
Singh was earlier allegedly found guilty of taking part in several bombings in Pakistan's Punjab province in 1990 and was given the death penalty.
However, Singh's family in India maintained he was a victim of mistaken identity and had inadvertently strayed across the border.
His sister Dalbir Kaur had fought a long battle to secure his release from Pakistan but failed.
A Pakistani court in 2018 had acquitted Tamba and Mudassar citing “lack of evidence” after all the witnesses turned hostile.
Tamba was part of the ‘Truckwalla gang' and engaged in the property trade and drug trafficking, PTI reports.
He was recently involved in a clash with one of the gang members Ameer Balaj Tipu, who was later killed in Lahore. (Agencies)
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During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Man pleads not guilty to murder of BBC presenter's family
A 26-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering the wife and two daughters of BBC sports commentator John Hunt in a crossbow and knife attack.
Kyle Clifford, who also faces charges of rape, appeared via video link at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday.
Clifford, arrested in July after a manhunt, is charged with three counts of murder, one count each of rape and false imprisonment, and two counts of possessing offensive weapons – a 10-inch knife and a crossbow.
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session.
He is expected to enter a plea for that charge at a later date.
The victims were Carol Hunt, 61, wife of horseracing commentator John Hunt, and their daughters Louise, 25, and Hannah, 28.
An earlier hearing revealed that Louise had been found tied up and that both she and her sister had been shot with a crossbow, while their mother had been stabbed with a knife.
The fatal attack occurred at the family’s home in Bushey, a commuter town near Watford, northwest of London.
(With inputs from AFP)