Man set on fire

TAXILA, May 3:  An employee of a local hotel was set on fire over a minor dispute in Burhan in the limits of Hassanabdal police station on Thursday.

Mohammad Ashraf while lodging his report to police said that he was working in the hotel when Sajid Naseer and Zubair Khan, who run their hotel in nearby area, came there and sprinkled petrol over him and set him on fire.

Resultantly, he received burn injuries and was taken to THQ hospital from where he was referred to DHQ hospital Rawalpindi due to his critical condition. The police registered a case against the accused and started further investigation. —Correspondent

One shot dead

TAXILA, May 3:  A man was shot dead on his doorstep in the limits of Wah Saddar police station on Thursday. Zulfiqar Ali reported to police that on the ring of the doorbell, his brother, Iftikhar Ali, went to open the door. As he stepped out, some unknown assailant opened indiscriminate fire at him and fled away.

He said that the injured was taken to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. His body was handed over for burial after autopsy at THQ hospital. The police registered a case and started investigation. —Correspondent

Smuggling bids foiled

TAXILA, May 3:  The local police on Thursday foiled two bids to smuggle narcotics from Peshawar to Punjab and arrested three persons stated to be members of inter-provincial gang of drug smugglers.

Sub Divisional Police Officer DSP Raja Taifoor Akhter while talking to newsmen said that acting on a tip-off, Taxila police launched checking of vehicles at G. T. Road   and recovered three kilogram charas from Zahid Butt and Aslam Khan.

While in another incident, two kilogram charas was recovered from Sher Alam traveling in a Rawalpindi-bound passenger bus coming from Peshawar. He said that the police also arrested two persons identified as Naeem Khan and Mohammad Amir wanted in a murder case.

He said that both were declared proclaimed offenders (PO) by a local court as they went into hiding after the murder incident. —Correspondent

Shoe store gutted

TAXILA, May 3:  A shoe store was gutted and the shoes worth millions of rupees turned into ashes as the fire broke out due to short circuit in Hassanabdal on early hours of Thursday.

The sources said that some local people called the fire service and the local police after seeing the fire which had engulfed a shoe godown owned by a local trader, Arif Mehmood, on Ibraheem Lodhi Road.

Sources said that it took more than an hour to extinguish fire but till then the shoes had turned into ashes. Police sources said that the preliminary investigation revealed that the fire was erupted due to short circuit. —Correspondent

Shuttle service contract

ISLAMABAD, May 3: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has initiated inquiry into alleged irregularities and favouritism in award of a contract for running a shuttle service in Diplomatic Enclave.

“We have started inquiry on the issue and asked the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to submit relevant record to the NAB,” a senior official of NAB Rawalpindi told Dawn on Thursday.

A document obtained from the CDA revealed that the authority bosses had leased 36 kanals of land worth billions of rupees at 3rd Avenue close to Diplomatic Enclave to a private firm to run the shuttle service at the rate of Rs2 per square yard a year.

The service was initially launched in 2005 from Jinnah Convention Centre as vehicles’ entry to the Diplomatic Enclave, which has more than 40 embassies and foreign missions, was restricted and visa seekers were forced to travel on foot to and from the embassies and missions. Later, the point was shifted to 3rd Avenue close to the enclave where the private firm established a bus stand at 36 kanals of land.— Staff Reporter