KARACHI: A Rangers soldier was martyred in the Mochko area late on Thursday night, police and rescue sources said.

They added that Rangers Lance Naik Mir Afzal, in his mid-30s, was gunned down by unknown suspects on main Hub River Road. He was in civilian dress at time of the incident.

A Chhipa ambulance service official said that they received information that a man was lying at the Naval bridge at around 12 midnight.

Police officers also reached the crime scene. Two men were present there who assumed that the victim might have suffered a heart attack as he was not bleeding at the time. They made a phone call from his mobile phone, which was attended by his family members living in Musharraf Colony.

He was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment in an ambulance where his relatives also arrived.

During treatment at the hospital it emerged that he suffered a bullet wound on his abdomen.

In the meantime, Rangers personnel arrived there who took him for further treatment to their hospital where he breathed his last.

A police officer who wished not to be named said that the murder did not appear to be the outcome of a robbery bid as the crime scene was the main road leading to Hub, where heavy vehicles pass frequently. The officer said that the Rangers were investigating the possible motive and identity of the killers.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2019