MARDAN: As many as 88 political activists, including a newly-elected member of the district council,werearrested after indiscriminate firing by supporters of the winning and losing district council candidates from union council Jahangirabad here on Thursday.

The firing, apparently to create fear into each other`s group, started when the activists exchanged hot words over LG-related issues.

District police officer Gul Afzal Khan rushed to the spot along with a big contingent of police personnel to control the situation.

The firing was started by rival political groups, one led by newly-elected district council member on the PPP ticket Malik Mohammad Bashir and the other by losing candidate of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Malik Wasil Khan, at the main Jahanday Bazaar. However, no one was injured.

The police officials raided the houses of activists of the two groups and later through a press statement they claimed to have rounded up 88 people of both the groups.

They confirmed that the arrested people also included Malik Mohammad Bashir, while Malik Wasil fled from the scene.

The officials also claimed to have recovered six Kalashnikovs, three Kalakovs, two rifles and six pistols from both the groups.

They said that cases have been registered cases against both the groups.

FOUR SHOT DEAD: A man and his nephew were gunned down and their other relative was injured by their rivals while they were returning home after attending a court hearing here on Thursday.

Katlang police quoted Qamraiz Khan as saying that his brother Alamzib Khan and nephew Shahzeb Khan accompanied by their other relatives were returning home after attending a court hearing when their rivals riding a motorcycle opened fire on them. As a result, Alamzeb and Shahzeb died on the spot, while their relative Haider Ali received multiple wounds.

The police said that cause of the double murder was stated to be an old enmity.

The police registered FIR on the complaint of Qamraiz against Khalid Khan, his son Junaid and their relative Saeed, who escaped after the attack.

In another incident, two people were killed and another was injured in Takhtbai area here late on Wednesday night.

Of ficials of Takhtbai police station quoted the injured, Irfan, as saying that he along with his brother Afsar Khan was returning home in a taxi when their rivals opened fire on them at a railway crossing in Takhtbai Bazaar. Irfan said that his brother and cab driver Naveed died on the spot while he received bullet injuries.

The injured was referred from Takhtbai tehsil hospital to Mardan Medical Complex due to his critical injuries.

Takhtbai police registered an FIR on the compliant of Irfan against the alleged killers whose names could not be ascertained.

The police claimed that a girl hailing from Timergara had eloped with Irfan some time back. They said that the girl was later sent to Darul Aman in Peshawar when Irfan was arrested by police in the wake of a kidnapping FIR registered by family members of the girl.

They said that Irfan was going home af ter the court on Wednesday granted him bail in the case.