RAWALPINDI, Jan 23: A woman and her infant son were strangled with an iron string by robbers in I-8/4 sector on Friday, police said.

Sub-inspector Hameed, the investigation officer, told Dawn that Abdul Rehman, a property dealer, had gone to his office when two robbers entered his house and strangled his wife Faroozan and one-year-old son Obaidur Rehman. They then decamped with cash and gold jewellery.

The investigation officer said: "The woman was lying on the floor with her arms and legs tied with an iron string and her mouth stuffed with a piece of cloth. The infant's body was found from the cupboard."

The value of the looted goods is yet to be ascertained. Meanwhile, a doctor's house was ransacked by four robbers in Civil Lines area and six vehicles were stolen from different parts of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

Four robbers entered the house of Dr Mohammad Nawaz and held his family at gunpoint. They then escaped with 50 tolas of gold jewellery and Rs580,000 cash. Jawad Afzal's motorcycle was stolen from outside his house in Pirwadhai, while Abdul Rauf's car was lifted by some thieves from outside his house in Westridge.

Mohammad Younis lodged a similar complaint with the Sadiqabad police saying that his cab (SGE-8445) was stolen by some thieves. Raja Asad Ali's car (IDN-8881) was stolen from the parking lot of Pims, Haji Mohammad Yaqoob's car (IDN-2074) was lifted from F-10 sector, while a double cabin van (IDG-2741) was stolen from I-10/2 sector.

A reporter from Islamabad adds: A Pakistan Air Force official allegedly committed suicide in Sector E-9 on Friday, police said. The deceased, Hashmat Hayat, 35, committed suicide by hanging himself with the ceiling fan. The body of the deceased had been shifted to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences for autopsy.