Lahore: April 12, 2017. (PCP) On April 4, 2017, Ameen Masih, 45, was locked in his house and burnt to death by two shop owners and their accomplices, for not paying the instalments for the goods he got from the shop in Uggoki, Sialkot. According to eyewitness Khalid Yousaf, Ameen bought electronic appliances worth Rs. 350,000 from Afzal Electronics and Shehran Electronics and sold them to pay off his deficit. He was a hosiery worker with a limited salary and was therefore unable to pay the monthly instalment of Rs. 18,000 on time. On April 3, 2017 Muhammad Usman, Asim Ali, Yasir Bajwa and Shehran went to Ameen’s house, beat him with sticks and cricket bats and dragged him out while threatening to kill him if he did not pay the remaining amount. The whole day his family was unable to trace him, but later that night the shopkeepers returned, trapped him in his home, set the room on fire and locked it. They stayed outside the room and did not allow any of the family members or local residents to unlock the room to save Ameen’s life. Later, his family dialled the police helpline while the perpetrators managed to escape with the keys to the burning room. The residents and relatives eventually broke through the wall of the room engulfed with heavy smoke and found Ameen dead. The police shifted the dead body to the Government Allama Iqbal Memorial Teaching Hospital in Sialkot for autopsy. His funeral was held later in the evening and he was laid to rest on the same day on April 4, 2017. CLAAS’s team saw the actual room where Ameen was killed. The team visited the Uggoki Police Station and met the Investigation Officer Mr. Razzak, who was cooperating with the family. The team obtained a copy of the FIR report from the police station. The police have arrested Asim Ali, Yasir is on pre-arrest bail and Usman and Shehran have managed to escape. Shehran’s family pledged to present him to police in a day or so, according to the Investigation Officer. The team expressed condolences and offered legal assistance to Rakhil Bibi, Ameen’s widow. She works at Forward Gear Factory and has to raise three children, Suleman 14, Michel 12, and Unas 9. Rakhil Bibi was in a great shock at the tragic loss of her husband and said it would be difficult for her to manage the house and education of her three children. The children were traumatised at the loss of their father. She said that her children were shocked after witnessing the brutal death of their father.