Milk shop owner gunned down in Landhi

A milk shop owner was shot dead in an apparent act of personal enmity in the Landhi neighbourhood on Thursday. Police said the incident took place at the Bismillah Milk Shop located near Noor Manzil in Landhi No. 1.

Police said that one of the two men riding a motorbike opened fire on the shop, resulting in the killing of its owner on the spot. The armed assailants, however, managed to escape after the attack, they added.

Responding to the information received, rescuers reached the crime scene and transported the body to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for carrying out the medico-legal formalities. Police also arrived on the scene to investigate.

According to their initial investigation, the assailants were already presented at the crime scene and shot their target soon after he arrived at his shop early in the morning.

Police said the deceased had been identified as 45-year-old Asghar Rajput, adding that the victim was survived by six children. They said a .30-bore pistol was used in the murder, adding that the victim was shot once in the head.

Though the actual motive behind the incident is yet to be ascertained, police officials suspect that the incident might have something to do with personal enmity.

SHO Saadat Butt said the victim was opening his shop when one of the men on the motorcycle approached him, shot him in the head at close range and then escaped.

The officer said the police have also obtained the CCTV footage of the crime scene, adding that a case has been registered and the police are conducting further investigation.

A day earlier, a local leader of the religio-political Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat was gunned down in a similar fashion by hitherto unidentified suspects in the Baloch Colony area.

Towel factory gutted

Goods worth millions of rupees were gutted after a fire broke out at a towel factory in the SITE Area on Thursday morning. The fire brigade spokesman said the unit was located near Habib Bank Chowrangi.

He said fire engines were immediately despatched to the three-storey Sardar Textile, adding that initially two tenders with a water bowser were sent to the site. The SITE Association’s representatives and different welfare organisation’s rescuers also arrived on the scene.

The fire engines faced troubles due to the shortage of fuel, but representatives of the SITE Association provided them with it. The firefighters were able to douse the blaze after three hours, but by then goods worth millions had turned to ash. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.