07 January 2005	Friday	25 Ziqa'ad 1425

KARACHI, Jan 6: A police constable was shot dead in an encounter with robbers in the Defence Housing Authority on late Wednesday night.

Police said four robbers were looting the passengers of a minibus near street No 18, in the Defence police limits, at around 11:30pm.

Two police constables on a motorbike noticed the foul play and challenged the robbers, which led to an exchange of fire between them and the policemen. As a result, policeman Abdul Sattar, 36, suffered a bullet wound and died on the spot.

His colleague kept fighting the robbers and arrested one of them. Three of the robbers fled firing into the air but one of them fell down in panic and people caught him and handed him over to the police.

Two TT pistols were seized from the suspects. The police have been conducting raids to arrest their absconding accomplices. The body of Abdul Sattar, father of three, was sent to his native town in Mansehra.

BODY FOUND: The body of a woman was found near a storm-water drain in Korangi on Thursday. Police arrested a doctor and two other people for allegedly killing the woman.

Korangi police said Jannat Bibi, 36, had separated from her husband Syed Noor about a year back. She had six children but only her elder daughter lived with her. She married off her daughter a few months back and started living alone.

Her brother came to see her and found the door locked. He arrived there the next day again and inquired from Noor Mohammad about her sister. The man expressed his ignorance about her. But her brother got suspicious and sought help from the police.

The police investigation said that Jannat Bibi had allegedly developed extramarital relations with one of her neighbours, identified as Noor Mohammad, and got pregnant.

Noor took her to a doctor, who demanded a handsome fee for abortion. Noor paid him the fee but the doctor mishandled the case resulting in the woman's death on Dec 11, 2004.

Noor reportedly told the police that he had paid more money to the doctor for disposing of the body with the unborn child. The police picked up Shahid Mehboob, who claimed to be a doctor and his compounder Shamaon, who led the police and recovered the body. It was found packed in a gunny bag and thrown along a drain on Thursday, the police investigation said.

The police arrested the suspected neighbour, the doctor and the compounder and registered a case of murder against them on the complaint of the victim's husband, Syed Noor.

ACCIDENT: A recklessly driven water tanker knocked down a motorcyclist near the Defence traffic signal on the Korangi Road on Thursday. Police said Pastor Haroon, resident of Azam Basti, was hit from the rear and he died on the spot. The driver of the water tanker fled leaving the vehicle behind.

FIRE: Thousands of cotton bales were reduced to ashes on Thursday in a big fire in a private textile company in Landhi, and in another incident the fire destroyed electrical appliances at a showroom in Saddar.