One person is reported dead of gunshot wounds, with two others severely injured, after a demolition exercise supervised by police on a disputed land turned violent at Akwatia Line, a suburb of Kumasi.

An eyewitness account says the incident occurred on Wednesday morning when a private developer, laying claim to a parcel of land occupied largely by traders, stormed the area with police officers to undertake a demolition of structures on the land.

But the traders resisted, arguing they had no prior notice of the exercise and had not been served with an eviction notice.

The parcel of land has been a subject of court litigation for some time now.

A private developer identified only as “Bossu” has, for months now, laid claims to the parcel of land occupied by traders.

Though the court is yet to rule on the ownership in court, traders woke up to the sight of a police team demolishing structures.

A confrontation ensued between the police task force and agitated traders who vowed to resist the demolition.

An unidentified man died on the spot from suspected gunshot wounds, with two others sustaining varying degrees of injuries.

Ibrahim Alhassan is one of the leaders of the traders.

At least four rounds of bullets were sighted at the scene after the confrontation. Traders accused police and private developers of being behind sporadic shootings.

The demolition exercise has since left many traders homeless, with many goods worth thousands of cedis completely destroyed in the process.

Meanwhile, three persons have been arrested by the Manhyia District Police Command.