March 23, 2008	Sunday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 14, 1429

LAHORE, March 22: A 55-year-old woman, a close relative of a senior police officer, was axed to death allegedly by her servant at her residence in Ghalib Market on Friday.

Police said Naheed Iqtidar of Ghalib Market’s B-Block, a kin of Talat Masood, the Faisalabad regional police officer, hired through a newspaper advertisement one Nasir, a resident of Layyah, as caretaker for her disabled son Jawwad , 24, one and a half months ago.

Nasir used to steel valuables from the house and was caught red-handed several times by Mrs Naheed who, according to police investigation, overlooked the boy’s wrongdoing every time to let him serve her son.

On Friday afternoon, Nasir was again stealing cash and jewellery from the wardrobe of Mrs Naheed who caught him red-handed and reprimanded him. An enraged Nasir refused to pocket an insult and beheaded his paymaster by repeated strikes of axe.

According to police, Nasir was about to escape the scene when the woman’s husband, Chaudhry Iqtidar, who had just reached home from Gujrat, caught the boy with the weapon of offence. Iqtidar and some locals immediately informed the police who took Nasir into their custody and later instituted a case under sections 302 and 392 of PPC against him. — Staff Reporter