KARACHI: A factory worker was arrested on Thursday over allegation of rape and murder of a female co-worker in Sharafi Goth.

Malir SSP Irfan Bahadur said the body of the young woman aged around 18-20 years was found from the home of the arrested suspect on Wednesday.

The suspect tried to give it the colour of a suicide. However, on the complaint of the victim’s father the police arrested him.

The police officer added that both the deceased and the suspect worked at the same industrial unit in the area. Police’s crime scene unit had collected evidence from the spot. The police suspected that more than one suspect was involved in the rape and murder.

The officer said the woman was strangled to death after the rape.

The body was taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for medico-legal formalities.

Dr Summaiya Syed, additional police surgeon of the JPMC, said a lady medico-legal officer had examined the body and it appeared that she had been raped before being murdered.

Man found shot dead

A 35-year-old man was found shot dead in Sukkan on Thursday while police believed that he was a ‘robber’ who had been killed by his accomplices over some dispute.

The police said that the body of the man with bullet marks was recovered near a warehouse in Bin Qasim.

The police recovered one pistol and a motorbike from the spot. The body was taken to the JPMC where he was identified as Shahid Husain by his relatives.

Area SHO Syed Mohammed Shoaib said a watchman of the warehouse told the police that around five to six suspected robbers had quarrelled with each other at the spot on Wednesday night. The officer believed the deceased was a suspect who had been killed by his accomplices over some dispute.

Suicide at Nadra office

A man set himself on fire in Nadra office in the Kalakot area of Lyari on Thursday and died.

City SSP Sarfaraz Nawaz Shaikh said the man, in his mid-30s, came to the Nadra office and was carrying a bottle containing petrol. He roamed around the office for a while and later sprinkled petrol on himself and set himself on fire.

He was taken to the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.

The police were trying to ascertain his identity and possible motive.

Two ‘hitmen’ held

The police’s Counter-Terrorism Department on Thursday claimed to have arrested two suspects linked with MQM-London who were allegedly involved in targeted killing of policeman and robberies.

The CTD detained the suspects, Mohammed Zahid Khan and Waseem Ali from Sharifabad and recovered arms and a motorbike from their custody. CTD DIG Omar Shahid Hamid said the held suspects had gunned down police head constable Syed Khalid Shah in Jauharabad and took away his official SMG rifle. Besides they also ‘confessed’ to have committed over 30 robberies.

Published in Dawn, January 22nd, 2021