BAH AWALNAGAR: Two minor cousins were killed when the pistol of their relative went off accidentally in Chishtian here on Saturday.

According to the FIR registered with the Saddar police station, seven-year-old Jawad of Chak 4, Gajyani, and his nine-year-old cousin Zawar of Basti Nurpura, Chishtian, were playing in the courtyard. In the meantime, one of their relative Muazzam came there and started cleaning his pistol while sitting on a charpoy.

The children were standing near Muazzam when his pistol suddenly went off and a bullet penetrated into the throat of Jawad after piercing through the chest of Zawar.

Resultantly, both the children died on the spot.

DPO`s spokesperson Shehzad Ishfaq told Dawn when the police reachedthe spot and started investigation, the family tried to conceal the involvement of the third person in the incident saying it happened when the children were playing with the weapon. The family also refused to initiate any further proceeding.

However, the Saddar police took the bodies into custody and shifted them to the Chishtian T HQ Hospital for autopsy.

The spokesperson said during a police investigation, it was revealed that the children were killed when the pistol held by their relative went off accidentally.

He said further legal action would be taken in the light of the post-mortem report.