Man on the run after killing sister-in-law gunned down

A man who was believed to be involved in the murder of his sister-in-law in Karachi’s Paposh Nagar neighbourhood a couple of days ago was shot dead during an alleged encounter with the police at his house in the early hours of Wednesday.

Police said the suspect, Arif Gul, held his family members hostage at gunpoint for at least six hours and also tortured them, adding that the suspect also wanted to kill his two sisters. Officials said the suspect had killed his sister-in-law, Hafsa, two days ago in Paposh Nagar by shooting her in the head, adding that he had tried to hide the incident from the police and managed to escape during the investigation.

Police said the suspect had returned home on Tuesday to punish his family members for recording their police statements against him, adding that besides children, the suspect also held his two sisters and mother hostage at gunpoint for at least six hours while he constantly beat them up.

Officials said the suspect had run up to the roof of the house after the police arrived on the scene and also opened fire at them. They said the police returned fire and killed him on the spot. They also claimed to have recovered a 9mm pistol and over 50 empties.

The suspect’s sisters told the police that Gul had arrived at the house in the afternoon and wanted to kill them, adding that the family members had locked themselves inside the room after he went to fetch his weapon.

One of his sisters, Shabana Bibi, said that both the sisters were married and had been visiting their mother after receiving the news of their sister-in-law’s murder. “Arif arrived at the house and first started beating up our father,” she explained. “He also wanted to kill both his sisters, and continued to threaten to kill us when we both locked ourselves inside a room.”

A three-year-old boy was also present at the house, but he remained unhurt. Police have registered a case on the complaint of the suspect’s cousin, Waheed Zaman, and initiated further investigation.

Mugging bids

Two people were wounded for putting up resistance during separate mugging bids on Wednesday. According to Sir Syed police station, Abida, 60, wife of Javed Iqbal, was shot and wounded during a mugging bid in North Karachi. She was taken to a nearby private hospital for medical treatment.

In a similar incident, 35-year-old Abdul Qadir was wounded in at Lyari. He was taken to the Civil Hospital, Karachi for medical treatment. The Chakiwara police said the incident took place when the victim offered resistance during a mugging bid.