KARACHI: A 54-year-old woman was allegedly poisoned by a rickshaw driver in Surjani Town on Saturday, said police and rescue sources.

They added that Yasmin Shoukat was murdered inside her home in Sector 15-D near Lal Chowk.

The alleged killer, 21-year-old Sher Ali, tried to set the home on fire and attempted ‘suicide’ but he was arrested by the police.

Surjani SHO Iftikhar Ahmed Qureshi said that the suspect drove a rickshaw and used to pick and drop a teenage daughter of the deceased from her academic institute.

He added that on Saturday when the girl, aged around 18 years, arrived at home in the evening, she saw that the rickshaw driver was present there and her mother was lying unconscious.

The suspect told her that he did not do anything to her mother but had given her some “medicines” and she would gain consciousness. The girl realised something was suspicious and told him that she was going to call a doctor from a nearby clinic. She came out of the home and informed the neighbours about the situation. The officer said that after receiving information about the incident, the police rushed to the spot. In the meantime, the suspect tried to set the home on fire with the help of a cylinder. He also attempted suicide by stabbing himself. The police saved the house from burning and arrested him.

SHO Qureshi revealed that the deceased woman’s husband had gone to Punjab.

The woman’s body was taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital to ascertain the exact cause of death.

The injured suspect was also taken to the hospital for treatment where his condition was stated to be out of danger.

The officer believed that the woman was poisoned.

He suggested that the murder appeared to be an outcome of some personal issue.

Teenager shot at by policeman

A teenager was shot at and wounded within the remit of the Frere police station allegedly by a policeman who was said to be under the influence early on Saturday morning, said police.

They added that Junaid Ahmed, 18, was injured by a policeman identified as Fahad over some personal dispute in Punjab Colony near Chandio Village.

Frere police officer Shahid Amin said that a scuffle had broken out between two neighbours over some issue.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2019