ISLAMABAD: A man was gunned down by one of his tenants in the G-7 Markaz, also known as Sitara Market.

Chaudhry Nisar, 45, was a PTI leader and owned four hotels along with his brother, police said. He was a native of Gujar Khan and was doing business in the city for three decades.

Some of his hotels were rented out, including Star Hotel which was rented out to a man from Murree.

According to preliminary investigation, the victim had said he will come over to the hotel to discuss some issues as the agreement with the tenant expired on Friday. “There was an issue over the security deposit, which led to an argument between the owner and the tenant, who was accompanied by three people,” a police official said.

One of the men from the tenant’s party pulled out a weapon and fired at Chaudhry Nisar, who received four bullets. The tenant and his accomplices then escaped from the scene and left their belongings behind. The mobile phones they left behind were later confiscated by the police.

The police said some reports had suggested the victim had been targeted by motorcycle riders and that it was later confirmed that he had been killed by his tenants. Traders of the area took to the roads in protest of the killing, set tyres on fire and chanted slogans against the police.

Traffic was jammed during the protest and the traders dispersed after senior police officials promised them that the culprits would be arrested soon.

Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2016