They chanted slogans against the government and the police and alleged that the present government had failed to protect the life and property of Shia community, as scores of Shias have been killed in Karachi, Bhakkar, Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Quetta during the current year.

"We believe, it is a sectarian killing because my elder brother Akhtar Abbas Magsi, magistrate of Khanewal, was killed in 1987 by terrorists when he was returning from Sargodha along with Hameddullah Waraich, the deputy commissioner of Rajanpur," said Tahir Abbas Khan Magsi, the younger brother of Haji Nazir Magsi.

He said that his family or tribe had no enmity with anyone, however, it was very active in sectarian activities.

"It would be premature to say anything about this case, however, we are investigating the case from all aspects. It might be a sectarian killing, or outcome of some tribal enmity or land-dispute, etc," said District Police Officer (DPO) Salman Chaudhry.

"We have constituted three teams under the supervision of ASP Rana Azhar Akram and a case has been registered on the complaint of Musharraf Nazir Magsi, 18, the son of the deceased," he added.