LAHORE: Crime incidence is on the rise as another body of a man stuffed in a gunny bag and dumped in a deserted area of Shahdara was found on Friday.

A passerby saw the body of the man dumped in a jungle near Ravi Bridge and alerted police. A team of experts from forensic unit launched investigation and shifted the body to a city morgue for autopsy.

Shafiqabad DSP Sheikh Ghias said the man had been identified as Mohammad Saleem, 45, who ran a hotel at Timber Market. He said Saleem left his hotel late on Thursday without telling anyone about his destination. His family tried to contact him over mobile phone in the morning and alerted police about his mysterious disappearance.

On Friday morning, he said, police were informed about the dead body of the man found in Shahdara area. He said it would be premature to say whether Saleem was subjected to torture before his murder or not. He said forensic experts were trying to ascertain the exact cause of his death.

He said his family had not shared any information with police. He was father of five daughters and a son, the DSP said, adding that a case had been registered against unidentified killers.

A few days ago, Hamdan Niazi, 17, was kidnapped by unidentified men from Gulshan-i-Ravi when he left his home to offer prayers at a local mosque. After killing him, the suspects stuffed his body in a bag and dumped it in a drain.

ENCOUNTER: A robber was allegedly shot dead in an ‘encounter’ with police in Batapur area late on Thursday.

Identified as Amir Ali of Walled City, the robber was involved in the murder of a trader of Akbari Gate during street crime, police said, adding that the officials of the CIA were taking him for recovery of looted items in Batapur area late on Thursday when his accomplices attacked the team.

Police said they returned fire and found Amir dead. Officials claimed that the suspect was shot dead in the firing of his own accomplices.

Sources dubbed the police story ‘doubtful’ saying the man might have been killed by police because of his heinous crime history. SHOT DEAD: A young man was shot dead by unidentified motorcyclists in Raiwind on Friday.

Police said armed men stopped Irfan Ali at Adda Plot when he was taking edibles from a market. As he came out of the shop, they opened fire on him and fled.

Irfan, who was a father of a child, died on the spot. Police said his family denied enmity with anyone.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2020