Gone too soon: Mother of two killed in apparent mugging attempt

Victim was shot in the head once and died on the spot.

KARACHI:

It was routine for Taskeen Asad to drop her son at Robotics Labs — an institute that offers computer courses — and then pick him up a few hours later. Little had she known that she would not be there to pick him up due to the cruel events that transpired on Saturday afternoon.

The 35-year-old mother of two had come to drop her elder son for his class at the institute when an unknown assailant shot her in the head. The incident took place as her three-year-old son watched from the passenger seat of their car, parked at an empty plot behind the institute at Lane 8, Bukhari Commercial.

The incident, which the police believe was an attempted mugging, occurred at around 1pm, when the ill-fated Taskeen Asad, wife of Asad Abbas, was about to start her grey-coloured Vitz.

According to witnesses, a lone assailant riding a motorcycle was responsible for the murder. "A clean shaven young man, wearing shalwar kameez, rode up to her and shot her once," explained a shopkeeper. "She was bleeding profusely from the head wound and died on the spot."

Upon hearing the gunshot, a crowd rushed to the spot but the assailant had already escaped. "We waited for the ambulance for some time but it was getting late so we decided to take her to the hospital in my car," said a young man who had rushed her to a hospital. "I think she had passed away by that time."

The red circle marks the point where Taskeen Asad was shot dead by the unknown assailant.

Asad had been driving her son to the institute since the last couple of months. "She usually came to pick and drop her son from the institute," Adil, an employee at the institute, told The Express Tribune. "Thank God, the child was unhurt in the incident." The institute has been running since the last three years but this was the first time that such an incident occurred with their clientele.

Residents complained that muggings have become quite frequent in the area. They also identified spots where most muggings take place. These include the nearby areas of Sea View, Bukhari Commercial, Badar Commercial and 26th Street. "We have repeatedly asked the police to enhance the security in the area but they always respond with lame excuses of shortage of strength and lack of resources," said Iftikhar Ali, a resident of the area.

Meanwhile, police investigators were uncertain regarding the motive behind the shooting. "Her purse, which also had her cell phone, has disappeared," Clifton division SP Dr Asad told The Express Tribune. "The investigation is in its preliminary stages and we cannot say anything about the motive at the moment."

Though the family of the victim refused to talk to the police and media, it was learnt that a relative of the victim had also been killed in a similar manner, some time ago. "It is possible that the killer might have tried to deceive the police by taking her purse," said SHO Asif Munawar. "Usually, two or more people are involved in mugging cases and do not kill their target unless the latter offer some form of resistance."

The police have also obtained footage from the close circuit cameras installed at the institute. The CCTV, however, did not capture the incident as it occurred at the rear end of the building. No case was registered till the filing of this report.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 7^th, 2014.