KARACHI: A 26-year-old police constable was shot dead in an attack on a checkpoint in Pak Colony on Saturday afternoon, the police said.

They added that three policemen were on duty at the Chor Pullia checkpoint in Jehanabad when armed motorcyclists appeared from a congested street and opened straight fire on Constable Faisal Hameed and fled.

He sustained four bullet wounds fired from the 0.9mm pistol and was taken to a hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.

The Pak Colony police station SHO, Fasih Zaman, said that since the area was dominated by gangsters, the policeman might have been targeted by criminal elements.

Over 120 policemen have been killed in so far this year in the metropolis.

Poultry shop owner Killed

A 22-year-old man was shot dead in Shah Latif Town on Saturday over ‘personal enmity’, the police said.

They added that when Wajid, aka Akash, opened his poultry shop along with his employee in Yusuf Arfani Goth, three armed motorcyclists appeared there. Two of them got off the motorcycle and opened straight fire on Wajid, killing him on the spot at around 8.30am.

As they tried to flee, the area people shouted for help, alerting a passing by police party, who chased the alleged attackers. However, they managed to escape.

Around a year ago, a girl had been ‘kidnapped’ in the area, whose family had lodged an FIR against the deceased, said Shah Latif SHO Arshad Awan.

Later on, the girl was recovered from someone else’s confinement. The officer suspected that the murder might be the outcome of that incident.

Pan cabin owner murdered

A 25-year-old man was found strangled to death in Napier on Saturday, the police said.

They added that the body of Wasim Maqbool was found near Jamia Masjid Firdous located on Chakiwara Road. The corpse bore torture marks and he was strangled to death.

The police said the victim owned a pan cabin on Yusuf Haroon Road in Baghdadi. He has left his home on Friday evening and did not return back, the police added.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2014