RAWALPINDI: Two armed men shot dead an elderly woman and injured her daughter-in-law after snatching a purse on gunpoint in Nanakpura area in the limits of the Ganjmandi police on Saturday.

The victims were taken to the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital where an autopsy was conducted on the body. The injured was being treated for wounds.

The deceased was identified as Nusrat Sultana and the injured as Farah Naz, the police said.

Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar took notice of the incident and sought a report from the regional police officer (RPO).

He ordered immediate arrest of the suspects involved in the firing incident. The chief minister also expressed grief and sorrow over the death of the woman.

Chief Minister Usman Buzdar orders immediate arrest of killers and seeks report from police

He said the injured women should be provided best medical treatment.

According to police, the two women were going to hospital for a medical check-up when the robbers riding a motorcycle intercepted them at Nanankpura and on gunpoint snatched a purse from one of them. The purse contained cash and jewellery.

When the elderly woman tried to resist the robbery, the armed men opened indiscriminate firing, killing her on the spot and injuring the other.

The robbers then fled from the scene along with the purse.

Local people called Rescue 1122 and the police who arrived and shifted the victims to the hospital.

A contingent of police also reached the crime scene and collected evidence besides recording statements of eyewitnesses as a part of their investigation.

An investigator told media persons that the police took CCTV footage from the nearby cameras that showed one of the armed men snatching the purse from the woman walking in the street with her daughter-in-law.

He said the robbers approached the women from behind, grabbed the purse from one of them at which she tried to resist.

The armed men shot the elderly woman in the face and escaped.

The investigator said when Farah Naz tried to chase the fleeing robbers, one of them shot and injured her.

The police have registered a case and started an investigation, the investigator said.

Meanwhile, City Police Officer (CPO) Mohammad Faisal Rana in a message on twitter said police were investigating the robbery/firing incident in Nanakpura. The investigation is being supervised by SP Rawal Division.

“We will not be at peace till the time the murderers of Ms Nusrat are brought to justice,” he said.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2019