LAHORE, Sept 24: Eleven people, including a former film actress and her five family members and a son of an ex-PML-N lawmaker, were shot dead on Wednesday in two incidents in the city.

Police said former film actress Nagina Khanum, 60, her five family members and two servants were recovered dead from a room of her house in the Zeenat Block of Allama Iqbal Town.

Besides her, the other dead persons were identified as her 30-year-old daughter Ambar Khanum, a cousin Chanda Khatoon, 42, a relative and Pushto film director Nasir Khan, 48, her two grandsons, Imran (12) and Kamran (16) and two servants — driver Hayat, 28, and housemaid Sonia, 18.

“They all had been shot, mainly in the heads, after being tied with ropes,” Superintendent Police Bilal Kamyana told Dawn. He said it seemed they were shot one by one and none of them got more than one bullet. “It is not the job of one man and we believe at least three to four people could be involved in the case.” No sign of resistance was found either in the room or from any other part of the house, the SP said.

He said there was a possibility that the victims might have been drugged before being shot.

Nagina Khanum’s son Ali was the first to discover the bodies and informed the police. He told the police that he was asleep upstairs and wakened by the sound of doorbell at the main gate. He said there was a neighbour at the main gate who told him that he made several attempts at the gate and also made a phone call but nobody was responding from the house. Ali said he then got back into the house and after a search found the bodies lying in a room.

SP Bilal Kamyana said Ali had been taken into custody on suspicion as to why could not he hear the gunshots. However, the area people told reporters that they too did not hear the shots. “The use of silencer-fitted weapons could not be ruled out,” Senior Superintendent of Police Aftab Cheema said, adding that nothing could be said about the motive behind the crime.

Mr Kamyana said the actress’ another son Nawaz Khan had recently started living separately from his mother due to some differences. When contacted by the police on his cell phone he was found to be in Murree. “Both the sons did not enjoy good relations with their mother.”

However, a police investigation wing officer said the film actress had been “exploiting girls for her won interests” in the guise of getting them into films and modelling. “Any of such victim girl and her family could be involved in this case.”

In the second incident, a traffic police inspector Khwaja Rizwan Mahmood, 35, the son of a former PML-N MPA Khwaja Riaz Mahmood, his friend Dr Shahid, 40, and his security guard constable Mohammad Yousuf, 35, were shot dead near the Rang Mehal parking plaza.

Superintendent Police Rao Karim said the inspector was on his way to his office in his official vehicle when three gunmen intercepted him. The armed men opened fire on him and continued the firing until they were sure that all the occupants of the vehicle had died, he added. The attackers escaped on foot, he said.

Passersby took the injured to the Mayo Hospital where they were pronounced dead before any medical aid could be provided to them.

Dr Shahid’s brother Naveed alleged that his father-in-law — a Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax — Mohammad Ali was behind the murders. He said his wife had estranged from him and her father had threatened to teach him a lesson.