GILGIT, March 8: Tension once again gripped the district when a section officer of the Northern Areas education department was shot dead on Tuesday.

Sources said that Mohammad Ayub, 54, of Danyore, was shot dead in the morning when he was on his way to Gilgit city.

Family sources claimed that they had no enmity with anyone. Some people resorted to firing in the air after receiving the news about the death of the section officer, following which almost all markets, banks and offices were closed and people started leaving the city in panic.

The army and law-enforcement agencies immediately started patrolling to avert any further incident, but tense calm prevailed. Meanwhile, officials confirmed that a member of district council Gilgit, Shah Abbas, had died of cardiac arrest on Tuesday and not from firing. -Correspondent