SUKKUR: Several hundred traders, businessmen, shopkeepers and residents of Maal Godam (a cluster of warehouses and outlets situated near the old railway station of Sukkur) took to the streets on Thursday in protest against the murder of a well-known businessman, Hafiz Hammad Ansari, allegedly by his business partner, late Wednesday night.

According to the bereaved family and friends of the deceased businessman, Hafiz Ansari, had in the past employed the suspect, Usama Sheikh, as his salesman who eventually became his partner in their car exchange business and also set up his own estate and property shop.

They said that on Wednesday, Hafiz Ansari purchased a Honda Civic car through Usama Sheikh for Rs5.5 million and drove it to his residence together with the latter.

The bereaved family claimed that as soon as the car entered the parking of the building housing their apartment at about 3am, they heard gunshot sound and descended to the parking lot, where they saw him (Mr Ansari) lying in a pool of blood. Sheikh, who had Rs5.5 million with him, was seen driving away the car to flee the area, they said, adding that the matter was immediately reported to the police.

According to the B-Section SHO, Mansoor Hattar, the police moved swiftly to cordon off the area. The car was spotted and impounded while it was moving within the limits of the police station, he said, and added that Usama Sheikh alias Ladla was arrested and booked in the fraud and murder case.

Amidst the day-long street protest in the area on Thursday, SHO Hattar told Dawn over phone that Sheikh was produced in a court of law to obtain his five-day remand for interrogation.

The area residents told the police that Sheikh took out his pistol when Mr Ansari came out of the car after parking it. He shot Mr Ansari and took over the car before driving it away. Their version was verified by the police, who later said that the entire episode was seen in the footage of a building’s CCTV camera fixed in front of the parking lot.

In his statement, Sheikh told the police that Mr Ansari paid him just Rs0.87 million [instead of Rs5.5 million] for the car which provoked a heated argument between them and he, in a fit of anger, shot dead Mr Ansari.

Some close friends of Mr Ansari said that Sheikh had a very bad reputation in the market but police were reluctant to lay hands on him due to his strong connections with the area’s prominent political figures.

Speaking to Dawn, SSP Sanghar Malik rejected the allegation and clarified that not only Sheikh was arrested, but the amount of around Rs5 million involved in the matter was also mentioned in the relevant FIR.

SHO Hattar said that the police were also looking for three or more other suspects believed to be involved in the episode.

On Wednesday night, the bereaved family claimed that Hammad Ansari died due to excessive bleeding as emergency treatment could not be provided to him at the Sukkur Civil Hospital due to the absence of doctors and electricity. There was no arrangement for alternative power supply, the shocked family members said.

Published in Dawn, July 22th, 2023