KARACHI: A 30-year-old policeman was shot at and injured critically in the Gulistan-i-Jauhar area on Wednesday evening, police and hospital officials said. Late in the evening hospital sources confirmed to Dawn that the policeman, Rehman Ali, succumbed to his injuries.

They said that Rehman Ali after performing his duty was standing outside his home in Pehalwan Goth near Usmania Masjid when gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on him. He was in civilian dress at the time of the incident. He sustained critical bullet injuries and was transported to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where he was admitted to the intensive care unit, said a JPMC official.

The policeman suffered a bullet wound in the head and his condition was critical, added the official.

A Gulistan-i-Jauhar police officer said that the martyred constable was posted in the Special Branch of the police at Saudabad.

DIG East Amir Farooqi claimed that the suspects involved in the incident had been “identified”. But the senior officer added that the investigators were trying to ascertain the motive for the attack.

Sindh IGP Dr Syed Kaleem Imam took notice of the incident and sought a detailed report from the East SSP. Mr Imam also called for taking effective and coordinated steps for the culprits’ arrest.

Trader shot dead in New Karachi

A trader was shot dead in the New Karachi area, police said on Wednesday.

New Karachi SHO Tahir Husain said that Naeem Qureshi was travelling on a motorbike with his son when a gunman attacked him in Sector 11-D. He sustained a single bullet wound in the head. The incident occurred at around 2.30am on Tuesday. He was taken to a private hospital in North Nazimabad, where he succumbed to the wound.

The victim was a meat seller.

The police officer ruled out the possibility of any robbery attempt behind the murder as the suspect did not take away anything.

Woman burns to death

A mother of four children burnt to death in the Docks area on Wednesday, police said.

They added that Hameeda, 35, was preparing breakfast inside her home in Jaffar Gali of Machhar Colony when she suffered an epileptic seizure and fell on the burning stove. She died from burns on the spot, said the police officer.

The officer said that her husband, Noorul Karim, and her father also stated that she was an epilepsy patient and termed it as an incident.

The body was handed over to the family after fulfilling legal formalities at the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi.

The victim was the mother of three sons and a daughter.

Trailer kills three men

Three men were killed in a road accident on National Highway on Wednesday night, according to police.

Steel Town SHO Shakir Ali said that the victims were coming from Thatta to Karachi in a van when a trailer crushed them from one side near Gulshan-i-Hadeed.

The errant driver managed to escape, leaving behind the heavy vehicle that was impounded by police.

The deceased persons whose bodies were shifted to the JPMC were identified as Abdul Wahid, Bilal and Yasin.

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2020