KARACHI: A female medical student of a private university was shot dead inside a car by alleged robbers in the presence of her father in Gulshan-i-Iqbal on Thursday morning, said officials.

They added that Misbah, 24, was killed by armed motorcyclists near her home at Mochi Mor on Rashid Minhas Road when she was waiting inside the car along with her father Athar Anwar for a bus of the varsity.

The police in their initial probe described the incident as a robbery-related crime.

“It is obvious that it is a case of robbery,” said DIG East Amir Farooqi.

“They [suspects] got panicked and one of them dropped the gun (inside the car).”

“He picked it up and opened fire in panic,” added the senior officer.

Another officer, Gulshan SP Shahnawaz Chachar, said that the alleged robbers snatched a mobile phone and wallet from the woman’s father.

The woman sustained a critical bullet wound on her head and was taken to a nearby private hospital in Gulshan, where she died during treatment.

Her body was brought to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre by her uncle Kashif Ahmed to fulfil medico-legal formalities.

She sustained a single bullet wound on her head, confirmed Dr Seemin Jamali, executive director of the JPMC.

Speaking to journalists, the victim’s uncle, Kashif Ahmed, said that his niece, a resident of Abid Town on Rashid Minhas Road, was a third-year medical student of Hamdard University.

She was sitting in the car along with her father waiting for the university bus at around 7am. Armed motorcyclists looted her father.

The uncle claimed that the suspects came from another side and opened fire and did not snatch anything from the girl.

However, the Gulshan SP disputed the version of the girl’s uncle.

He said that the armed men fired from the driver’s seat where her father was seated. And if the suspects had fired from the other side, there would be a bullet mark on the window of the car. The bullet was fired from inside the car, which showed that the suspect had become panicked, the officer added.

One spent bullet casing fired from the 9mm pistol was recovered from the car and sent to police forensic science laboratory to ascertain as to whether the same weapon had been used in past crimes.

The police investigators said that the killers were in their early 20s, who wore shalwar kameez. They went towards Sohrab Goth after the incident.

The victim’s funeral prayer was held at a local mosque, which was attended by relatives, area residents and varsity students.

On Aug 30, Dr Haider Askari, 58, was shot dead by armed motorcyclists in an attack on his car near KDA Market in Block-3 of Gulshan-i-Iqbal, a short distance away from Thursday’s crime scene.

The police at that time had stated that they were investigating the doctor’s murder from two possible angles — robbery and sectarian killing.

On Aug 26, Dr Ayesha Rehman was gunned down in her Gulistan-i-Jauhar home by armed robbers.

She was the sister-in-law of Sharea Faisal SHO Inspector Sarwar Commando and came to the city from Canada to attend a marriage ceremony.

Meanwhile, IGP Sindh Dr Syed Kaleem Imam took notice of the killing of the medical student and sought a detailed report from the SSP East, said a police spokesperson.

Published in Dawn, October 4th, 2019