In a case of criminal negligence, a man hacked and slaughtered eight people to death in their sleep in a village in Punjab’s Sheikhapura in the early hours on Saturday.

The tragedy was avoidable as the accused, Faiz Rasool, was handed over to the police a day earlier for injuring 12 people.

But the police released him without taking any action, locals say. It had fatal consequences for locals as Faiz went on a murderous spree in Heich village in the Narang Mandi area on the outer limits of Sheikhapura.

Armed with an axe and an iron rod, Faiz killed and maimed men, women and children that he came across.

Locals say that Faiz is a habitual criminal who killed the people as an act of revenge.

Police say that the accused seemingly suffers from a mental illness. They did not say whether the earlier accusations against him were investigated or he was given a psychological evaluation. It must be mentioned here that police in small towns and villages do not have access to tools for such evaluation.

The entire village was caught in the midst of grief, which soon escalated into a protest.

The heirs of the victims blocked the Narowal road, which was called off after talks with police authorities.

The victims were shifted to the Town Headquarter Hospital for post-mortem.

Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi has instructed authorities to ensure justice is provided, with the IG Punjab summoning a report from the Sheikhapura regional police officer.