GUJRANWALA, Sept 30: A cutlery unit and an oil agency were reduced to ashes after they caught fire here on Sunday.

Owned by Mushtaq Ahmad, the cutlery unit in Nazimabad, Wazirabad, caught fire due to short-circuit. The fire engulfed the entire machinery and raw material besides finished products which burnt them to ashes. The fire brigade was called out who doused the fire.

Meanwhile, an oil agency on the Gondlanwala Road also caught fire when some one threw a lit cigarette. The fire also engulfed an adjacent shop. Nearby shopkeepers put out the blaze. Agency owner Imran sustained serious burn injuries in his attempt to extinguish the flame.

SHOT DEAD: Unidentified assailants shot dead an Afghan refugee and injured his sister-in-law in Khiali Shahpur here on Sunday.

Salamat Ali Khan was asleep along with other family members when outlaws entered the house and opened fire on them. Salamat died on the spot while his sister-in-law, Zahida, sustained bullet injuries. She was rushed to hospital.

Meanwhile, a man strangled his wife on suspicion in Bungalow Abadi in Ghakkhar town on Sunday.

Zubaida Bibi, a mother of four children, had allegedly developed relations with her neighbour, Khalid Javed. Her husband Riaz had repeatedly asked his wife to mend her ways, but to no avail.