KARACHI: A man was shot dead in an attack on his car in a Nazimabad locality on Wednesday evening, the Gulbahar police said.

They added that Asghar Ali in his early 50s was travelling in a car when armed motorcyclists opened fire on him when the vehicle slowed down near the Nazimabad underpass. He sustained multiple bullet wounds and died on the spot. The body was taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medico-legal formalities.

Gulbahar SHO Qamar Zeb Satti said that a woman was also travelling along with the deceased, but she left in a rickshaw immediately after the incident from the crime scene.

The victim worked at the Hamdard Dawakhana in Nazimabad as a manager.

Later on, the woman told the police that she also worked at the Hamdard Dawakana in Gol Market in Nazimabad No. 3 and the deceased used to drop her at her home in Sindhi Hotel at Liaquatabad.

The woman stated that as the vehicle slowed down, the armed motorcyclists wearing helmets opened fire on her office colleague and fled.

The SHO ruled out the possibility of any robbery bid.

He said that the police were investigating the murder from two aspects — a targeted killing and a personal enmity. The investigators collected four spent bullet casings fired from 30-bore pistol from the crime scene.

Central SSP Irfan Ali Baloch clarified that the deceased, according to his colleagues, did not belong to the Shia community.

“The police were investigating the case from all aspects,” added the senior officer.

‘MQM-L extortionist’ held

Police on Wednesday claimed to have arrested a suspect linked to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-London for his alleged involvement in extortion.

The Sir Syed police and Rangers Task Force apprehended the suspect, Syed Amir Ali in North Karachi near Mohammad Shah graveyard while he was collecting protection money from a school owner, said New Karachi SP Shabbir Ahmed Baloch. The police seized protection money from him.

“The held suspect is the ringleader of a gang involved in extortion,” said Mr Baloch, adding that he was associated with the MQM-L and released from jail recently.

He was trying to reactivate his group, which comprised 15 to 20 members who had received protection money from different parts of the metropolis.

The held suspect had demanded protection money from the owner of a private school in North Karachi. He had already extracted protection money from the said owner four times earlier and was demanding protection money for the fifth time from him.

On his complaint, the police registered a case on Aug 11 and under a strategy arrested him on Wednesday.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2018