December 12, 2008	Friday	Zilhaj 13, 1429

RAWALPINDI, Dec 11: Seven members of a family were burnt, one of them critically, in a fire caused by a gas heater, while a woman’s beheaded body was found in a locked room during Eid holidays, police said on Thursday.

Qari Abdul Raheem Siddiqui, his wife and three children, a sister and her infant daughter suffered burn injuries when they were trapped in a fire that erupted in their two-bedroom house located on the premises of a mosque in Dhoke Charaghdeen on Tuesday.

According to the police,

Qari Siddiqui, his wife Tahira, two sons Abu Bakr and Omer, and daughter Laiba were sleeping in one room, while his sister Raheela and her infant baby girl were in an adjoining room when a gas heater they had left burning before going to bed triggered a fire.

The police said all the people fell unconscious due to the gas leakage and smoke which prevented them from escaping the blaze.

However, on seeing the flames and smoke coming out of the mosque, the residents of the area rushed to their rescue and called the police and emergency services.

The victims were taken to the Benazir Bhutto Shaheed and District Headquarters (DHQ) hospitals, where Qari Siddiqui was stated to be in critical condition as he suffered more than 90 per cent burns.

Meanwhile, a woman’s beheaded body was found in a house in Rawat on Wednesday, police said.

Mohammad Khalid told the police that few days ago a man and a woman came to him, requesting to allow them to cultivate his land and reside in a quarter.

Mr Khalid told the police that on Wednesday morning he found the door of the quarter locked.

The complainant informed the police and when the door was forcibly opened, the police found the beheaded body of the woman aged between 24 and 25. The man accompanying her was also found missing.

The police said they had started a search for the missing man and the severed head of the deceased.

In another incident, a man identified as Ibrar was shot dead while two women and three other persons were injured in a clash between two groups in Kahuta area on Wednesday.

Police said Mohammad Bashir and Mohammad Naseer had a petty dispute over “playing a game” on Eid day.

However, the issue between them was settled at that

time, but on Wednesday Naseer along with some other persons went to Ibrar’s house and attacked the inmates, killing Ibrar on the spot and injuring two women and three other men.