Man injured in Rawalpindi car snatching attempt lies unconscious in hospital

Police register attempt to murder case against unidentified assailants

ISLAMABAD: A man was critically injured when unidentified gunmen allegedly tried to snatch his car at gunpoint in Rawalpindi late on Tuesday night.

Police say Umar Hayat, who worked as a captain (driver) with an online ride-hailing service, was attacked by unidentified gunmen near Kotha Mor within the jurisdiction of Saddar Bairooni police station.

The incident reportedly took place at around 10:40pm on August 14 when Hayat went to the area in his car (JS-311).

Police said when Hayat reached the spot, reportedly some unidentified armed men pointed a gun at him tried to snatch his car. But when Hayat resisted them, they shot him.

Hayat received a bullet to his abdomen and was admitted to a hospital.



“We have registered a case for attempted murder on the complaint of the victim’s father,” said Saddar Circle deputy superintendent of police Mustafa Gilani, adding, “But no arrests have been made as yet.”

The police officer added it was not clear whether it was an attempt to snatch the car or if the victim was attacked due to some financial dispute.

He added that the police were waiting for the victim to recover enough to record his statement.



Meanwhile, the ride-hailing service has clarified that the victim was not working for them at the time of the incident.

“He was not online and the car he was in at the time was not registered with us. He had gone for a domestic errand,” a representative of the company said.

They, however, confirmed that Hayat had been working with them as a captain but he was offline for the past two days. 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16^th, 2018.