LAHORE, Oct 22: A leader of the defunct Sipah-i-Muhammad, Dr Ghulam Raza, was shot dead at Shalimar on Tuesday.

The murder of 41-year-old Dr Raza sparked anger among the Shia community.

Civil Lines Division SP Maroof Safdar Wahla said Dr Raza was stopped by two armed motorcyclists who sprayed a volley of bullets and fled, killing him on the spot.

He said Dr Raza Jafri would visit Lahore from Quetta to pursue the case of the alleged assassins of Maulana Azam Tariq. On Tuesday, he reached Singhpura by an auto-rickshaw and as soon as he got down, the armed men targeted him.

He said the police were trying to find out as to why Dr Raza visited Singhpura. He said the police found a passport in which two addresses were mentioned -- Raza Jafri’s permanent address of Mohallah Hussaini Sayyed Abad, Quetta and temporary address of Dak Khana Khas, Shumali Tehsil, Jhang.

The SP said Dr Raza’s colleagues Ghulam Raza Naqvi and Shabbir Shah were jailed in the murder case of Maulana Azam Tariq. An armed attack killed Azam Tariq in 1994 in Sargodha and a case was registered under sections 302, 324 and 440 of PPC besides 4/5 of Explosive Act at the Shahpur Sadar police station.

Mr Wahla said Dr Raza was pursuing the case for the release of his colleagues. He would stay at the residence of his son, Turrab Jafri, at Tokhar Niaz Beg. The police also recovered from his pocket a cell phone and Rs5,500.

The SP said the body was sent to the city morgue for autopsy.

He said an FIR had been registered under Section 302 against two unidentified persons on the complaint of Dr Raza’s son-in-law Syed Mohsin Raza. — Staff Reporter