KARACHI, Dec 6: A woman was shot dead allegedly by her brother-in-law, who also wounded his elder brother and a niece inside their home in Sharfabad on Monday, police said.

They said Amna Saleem, in her mid-40s, was attacked inside her fourth-floor apartment in Sharfabad when a few-day-old family dispute between her husband and his younger brother intensified.

“The attacker, however, escaped, leaving Saleem Memon, in his 50s, his wife Amna and their teenage daughter in a pool of blood,” said SSP Naeem Sheikh of Gulshan-i-Iqbal Town. “The injured were shifted to a private hospital on Stadium Road, where the woman died during treatment.”

Both the wounded, he said, were stable and the police were inquiring into the motive behind the firing that remained mysterious for the investigators for several hours.

“Initially the injured man, as well as his daughter, blamed his younger brother for the firing. The alleged assailant was not happy over the freewill marriage of the victim's elder daughter,” said an official associated with the investigation section of the New Town police station.

“The same was the account of eyewitnesses, who said they had seen the attacker running out of the apartment after the firing. But a few hours later, the family denied knowing anyone behind the firing and his motive.”

The police investigators believed that since the incident was the result of a dispute within the family, the victim and the relatives were now trying to protect the accused.

“Investigations are under way and the police will consider every aspect of the firing before registering a proper FIR,” said SSP Sheikh of Gulshan-i-Iqbal Town.

Old man shot dead An aged man was shot dead in Liaquatabad on Monday, police said.

They said 65-year-old Ahmed Hasan was shot two bullets by two men on a motorbike when he was returning from a Kabari Bazaar shop in Liaquatabad 10.

“The victim owned a shop in the same market and was buying some painting stuff from the shop for the renovation of his shop,” said an official at the Liaquatabad police station. “As he returned after the purchase, two men on a motorbike fired at him and escaped, leaving the victim in a pool of blood.”

He died on the spot and the body was later shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medico-legal formalities. The family of the victim and the police both were clueless about the incident.

“The family denies any personal enmity and it's quite strange that such an aged man was targeted. Similarly, it's not a street crime attempt. However, we have registered an FIR (475/2010) under Sections 302 (premeditated murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of the victim's elder son, Mohammad Sabir,” added the official at the Liaquatabad police station.