KARACHI: A suspect allegedly involved in the rape-cum-murder of a girl recently was gunned down in an encounter in Orangi’s Pirabad area on Sunday late night, according to police.

Pirabad police SHO Mohammed Mithal told Dawn that a police party had signalled two suspects to stop near Paracha Graveyard in Qasba Colony, but they resorted to firing and in an ensuing encounter, the 24-year-old suspect was killed while his accomplice escaped. Police claimed to have seized one pistol from his custody.

The suspect was involved in kidnapping and subsequent rape and murder of the six-year-old girl in the Manghopir area on May 16. The victim’s mother had identified the young man as the suspect in the case, said the police officer.

The girl, who went missing on May 15, was found dead in a makeshift room inside an empty plot. She was kidnapped by two young men in the presence of her two little cousins, according to investigators. A post-mortem examination of her body showed that she was raped before being strangulated.

‘Robber’ dies in police lockup

A suspected robber who was shot at and wounded following an encounter in Rizvia Society on May 27 succumbed to his injuries in police lockup on Monday, apparently owing to lack of treatment, according to officials.

Nasir Ali, alias Irani, had sustained bullet wounds on his leg during the encounter, said Rizvia Society SHO Idris Bangash. He was provided initial treatment in Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) and later shifted to the police lockup. However, his bleeding could not be controlled, added the officer. He was taken to ASH which referred him to Civil Hospital Karachi, but doctors there also did not admit him, said the police officer.

Nasir was again sent to the police lockup and subsequently taken to the ASH which again referred him to the JPMC, but doctors there also did not admit him.

On Monday morning, the wounded suspect himself removed the bandage and due to excessive bleeding his condition deteriorated. He was taken to the ASH where he was pronounced dead.

The police officer said they had also submitted an application to a magistrate where he was produced to seek his physical remand. Police requested the judge to order the authorities to get the wounded accused admitted to the hospital for treatment.

SHO Bangash claimed that police had seized a snatched motorbike and one pistol from the custody of Nasir during the encounter. He said the suspect was twice arrested by Pak Colony police on charges of robbery and possessing illegal weapon, but had been released on bail.

Man kills wife

A young woman was murdered in City Railway Colony in the wee hours of Monday.

According to Mithadar police, Sadia, 31, was killed by her husband, Umer Taj, with help of a hard and blunt weapon inside their home. The suspect, who is stated to be a railway employee, escaped from the crime scene. The woman was murdered over some domestic dispute, said police officer Azhar Iqbal.

Woman body found

The body of a young woman was found in the Sharafi Goth area on Monday.

According to police, the woman in her 30s had bullet wounds in the head and her body was recovered from the Malir riverbed, near Juma Goth. Sharafi Goth SHO Sarfraz Kakezai said it appeared that she had been kidnapped and killed somewhere and later her body was thrown there. From her appearance, she looked like Baloch. The body was shifted to Edhi morgue for identification after autopsy conducted in Civil Hospital Karachi.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2017