KARACHI: A driver of a ride-hailing service was shot dead at Sohrab Goth early on Thursday morning, officials said.

They added that Syed Shakeel Husain, 26, was shot at and wounded by unknown gunmen within the remit of the Sachal police. He drove his car to reach hospital but died on his way in the Federal B Industrial Area police limits.

FB Industrial Area SHO Qamar Javed said the man was driving the vehicle when gunmen attacked him somewhere in the area. He sustained a single bullet wound on the neck. He accelerated the car despite being wounded, but probably fell unconscious after hitting a ramp of the Sohrab Goth bridge.

People sitting at a nearby restaurant rushed to the spot and called an ambulance to take him to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital but he died before reaching the hospital.

Mr Javed, quoting area people, said that they did not see any gunman nor heard any gunshot at the place. He said he believed that the man was attacked within the limits of the Sachal police and died in his jurisdiction.

Malir SSP Irfan Bahadur, who visited the crime scene, said the victim was stated to be a driver of the Uber ride-hailing service. The officer said that so far it was a ‘blind’ murder case for the investigators as they did not have any clues to the identity and motive of the killer.

Woman commits suicide

A young woman, estranged from her husband a few months ago, committed suicide on Thursday evening in the Manghopir area, police said.

They added that Bisma Noman, 22, hanged herself inside her parents’ home in Gulshan-i-Tauheed, Orangi Town.

Area SHO Irfan Asif said she had developed differences with her husband and shifted to her parents’ around six months ago. Relatives had tried to reconcile the couple, but their efforts failed.

On Wednesday, she asked her mother to prepare some drinks. As the mother went into the kitchen, she took her dupatta and hanged herself from a ceiling fan.

She was taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital by her parents, where doctors confirmed her death. The police officer said that they received information from the hospital about the arrival of the woman’s body. The police fulfilled legal formalities and handed over the body to the family.

The officer ruled out the possibility of any mischief behind the incident.

‘Anti-drug unit’ proposed

The city police are contemplating to establish an anti-drug unit to curb the growing use of drugs by the youth.

This proposal came under deliberation during a meeting chaired by city police chief Dr Amir Ahmed Shaikh at his office.

The meeting, attended by all DIGs and SSPs of Karachi, sought opinions from the officers to that effect.

Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2019