KARACHI: A muezzin was shot dead inside a mosque in Sohrab Goth on Tuesday minutes after he called for Fajr prayers, police said.

They added that 48-year-old Wilayat Khan was attacked by a lone gunman inside the Jama Masjid Muhammadi situated in Ayub Goth within the remit of the Sohrab Goth police station.

“Evidence collected from the crime scene, statements of eyewitnesses and facts shared by the victim’s family suggest that the murder was motivated by some personal enmity,” said an official.

“The victim’s son has told police that the family originally hailed from Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and they are settled here in Karachi for the last 17 years. A blood feud is running in the family for more than 30 years and the family has reasons to believe that Wilayat Khan has fallen prey to the same enmity,” the official said.

UTP escapes from city courts

An undertrial prisoner managed to escape from the premises of the city courts before his production in a court.

In the latest incident the UTP, identified as Malik Altaf, escaped from a courtroom and the policeman escorting him remained unaware of the incident.

“Head constable Zahoor has been arrested for negligence. In his initial statement, the policeman claimed that he remained unaware of the incident as the suspect himself opened his handcuffs and ran away when he was inside the courtroom for some legal formalities.”

“The suspect was arrested by the Sir Syed police for possessing an illicit weapon,” said an official at the City Court police station.

Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2021