Cabbie found shot dead

RAWALPINDI, Nov 11: A cab driver, who left for Murree with his eunuch friend on the second day of Eidul Azha, was found shot dead in his abandoned vehicle near New Town police station on Friday.

Sohail Khan, the brother of the victim, in his statement said his brother Ayaz, in his twenties, had been in contact with him since he left for Murree to enjoy holidays with his friend. The last conversation he had with Ayaz was on Thursday during which he had informed him that he would return home on Friday evening.

Sohail said: “I had been trying to contact Ayaz but his cellphone was not responding.  However his friend ‘Sitara’, when contacted, denied having any information of my brother.”

On Friday, some passers-by noticed an abandoned taxi (LOC-2166) parked close to the college compound wall and a man lying dead on its driving seat. The police were called who shifted the body to the DHQ hospital and seized the vehicle.

According to preliminary postmortem report, the victim was shot in the head. However, nothing else was found from the abandoned vehicle which could help the police trace the killer. The family of the victim was quoted as saying that they have no knowledge about the killer as his brother had no enmity with anybody.—Staff Reporter

Buildings demolished

MURREE, Nov 11: Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) staff on Friday demolished portions of buildings which were constructed by their owners taking advantage of Eid holidays in violation of the ban imposed by the Punjab government on all kind of construction in the hilly resort.

According to TMA sources, the buildings were being constructed by erecting iron sheets but the TMA staff reached there and demolished the newly-constructed portions. A case has also been registered against Zafar Shah, the owner of a building at Sunny Bank.

According to the by-laws introduced by Punjab government in 2004, only three-storey buildings can be constructed in Murree.

The TMA had launched many drives to demolish the high-rise buildings but the exercise proved futile as no considerable work had been done by the TMA staff in this regard.

When this reporter contacted Town Municipal Officer (TMO) Azmat Qader Goraya, he said strict action would be taken against all kind of constructions. But he admitted that political pressure from influential people was hampering the drive.—Correspondent