KARACHI, April 2: A 26-year-old motorcyclist was crushed to death near the Liaquatabad underpass on Saturday by a fast-moving truck, police said. The incident sparked anger among the area people who set the heavy vehicle on fire after its driver escaped, they added.

They said that Noman Bashir riding a motorbike bearing registration number KDU-0327 was hit in the rear of the bike by the truck (TKZ-473) carrying trading goods.

“Witnesses have said that the victim was on the slow lane of the road and about to enter the Liaquatabad underpass when the truck driver overtaking a vehicle lost control of the wheel,” said Sharifabad police station SHO Inspector Iqbal Sheikh.

“The youngster died on the spot while the truck driver after hitting the rider backed up the vehicle and tried to get away from the area, but failed when several vehicles stopped around the area of accident.”

Seeing himself trapped, the driver jumped off the truck and ran away while his assistant was overpowered by the crowd, the police officer said.

The enraged youngsters in a few seconds set the truck on fire, he added.

“The truck was badly damaged but timely intervention by firefighters prevented the fire from reaching its engine,” added the SHO.

He said that the police had detained the truck driver's assistant though he was not likely to be charged in the FIR which would be registered after the burial of the victim.

“The victim was a resident of Musharraf Colony in Mauripur and was employed with an industrial unit in a SITE area,” he added.

Young man shot dead A young man was gunned down in a Lyari area on Saturday, police said.

They said 37-year-old Zaman Khan was targeted on Sheedi Village Road when he was riding home situated in Khadda Market near Kharadar.

“Two men on a motorbike intercepted Zaman on the main road before one of them got off the two-wheeler,” said an official at the Baghdadi police station.

“He was hit by a single bullet in the head and died on the spot as the attackers ran away from the scene. The body was later shifted to the Civil Hospital for medico-legal formalities.”

The police officer said that the victim hailed from Gilgit-Baltistan and had been settled in Lyari for the past many years.

The police also suspected that the victim had connections with criminal gangs operating in Lyari.“The victim was associated with a local newspaper named Extra News covering mainly events in Lyari. The motive behind the killing is not clear but initial investigations led to the fact that he was very much close to some criminal elements in the town,” added the official.