Mystery murders: Ten killed in separate incidents in twin cities

Cases registered against unknown persons, no arrests made so far.

RAWALPINDI:

Of the four women and six men, found murdered in separate incidents in Rawalpindi district and Rawat, six were killed on Saturday. All the killers were labelled as unknown persons by the police, except one, and not a single one of them had been caught till the filing of this story.

In the jurisdiction of Sadiqabad Police Station, four members of a family, a brother and three sisters, were found murdered at a house in Street No 2, Muslim Colony. The police said the murders were committed over a land dispute two or three days back.

The police were waiting for post mortem reports to pinpoint the cause of the deaths.



The deceased have been identified as Saleem, his sisters Shamim, Tahira and Sajida. Talking to The Express Tribune, a rescue worker said the eldest sister, probably in her fifties, was shot in the mouth.

“One body was recovered from the drawing room, two from a room on the ground floor while the fourth body which was of Saleem was recovered from the storeroom on the upper storey,” he said.

The decaying bodies had attracted swarms of insects and created an unbearable stench, the rescue worker stated. The locals informed the police who called Rescue 1122.

Rescue workers packed the bodies in special bags and took them to the District Headquarters Hospital for post mortem.

“They were from Murree and had been residing here for several years,” said Ashraf, a neighbour.

When contacted, Sadiqabad SHO Tanveer Warraich said, “Property dispute seems to be the main motive behind the murders,” he said. However, it could not be ascertained whether the deceased had a dispute with land grabbers or with relatives. We’re examining the crime scene but so far no weapon had been recovered from there, he added.

“For the time being, the police are waiting for the victim’s relatives to come forward. We’ve registered a case against unknown persons,” he said.

In another incident, two persons were shot in Lehtrar. SHO Akbar Abbas said Arshad Mehmood was going home with his nephew Jameel on a motorcycle when two unknown men, who had covered their faces, opened fire on them, leaving them dead on the spot. He said the motive behind the double murder was a mystery.

Meanwhile, a man was gunned down by unknown persons in the jurisdiction of Saddar Bairuni Police Station. A police official said Rasheedur Rahman, a resident of Dhoke Lakkhan, was shot by two armed persons riding a bike. The deceased had no enmity and a case had been registered against unknown persons, he added.

In another incident, a man killed his sister in the jurisdiction of Rawat Police Station. Rawat police said Shakeel Masood, a resident of Pind Chatla, shot his sister Komal over a minor dispute. The police have registered a case against Masood.

As a result of an old enmity, two Afghan nationals were gunned down in the jurisdiction of Naseerabad Police Station on Saturday. Assistant Sub-Inspector Javed Iqbal said two brothers identified as Ghani Khan and Aslam, who were scrap dealers, had an enmity in Afghanistan. “Agha Hussain, also an Afghan national, traced them and shot them,” he said. The killers made good their escape, but cases have been registered against Hussain.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 2^nd, 2013.