Key witness in murder case gunned down

A man who was a key witness in a murder case was gunned down in a brazen attack in District Central of Karachi on Monday. Two other people were injured during an attempt to mug them, while as many were wounded in a clash over personal enmity.

According to details, the District Central incident took place outside a private hospital in Sector 15-A/4 of the Buffer Zone neighbourhood, which falls within the jurisdiction of the Taimuria police station.

Forty-eight-year-old Ghulam Murtaza, alias Panni, son of Abdullah, was seriously wounded in the attack by two unidentified men. He was immediately taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries during treatment.

After receiving information about the incident, police officials reached the crime scene and found that the victim had suffered two shots to the jaws and back. Police said that the victim had been a driver of the owner of the private hospital. They said that the man had been standing outside the facility according to his routine when he was fired at.

The hospital’s owner, namely Arsalan Jamshed, told the police in his initial statement that his father had been gunned down in an act of target killing in the Preedy area last year. He said Murtaza had been the key witness of the murder, adding that a court hearing of the case had been scheduled for Monday. He also said that his father had been associated with the construction business, adding that Murtaza had been his driver for 28 years.

Police and the family suspect that Murtaza’s murder might be connected with last year’s case. They have collected the empty shells of the pistol used in the incident and sent them to the forensic division of the Sindh police for ballistics cross-matching.

Four injured

Shahid Ali, 35, was wounded in a firing incident that took place after he offered resistanceduring a mugging attempt in the Korangi area falling within the limits of the Zaman Town police station. He was taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).

In another incident, 23-year-old Faizullah was shot after he offered resistance during a mugging attempt in the Steel Town area. He was taken to the JPMC. Also in the Steel Town area, two men, namely Badshah Khan, 34, and Ashfaq, 29, were wounded in a firing incident that took place in the Gulshan-e-Hadeed neighbourhood. They were taken to the JPMC. Police said that the two men were shot during a clash that had broken out over a personal enmity.