8 booked in PML-N leader's murder case

Police have registered a murder case against eight unidentified armed men over the killing of senior PML-N leader, former Murdike municipal committee chairman and Anjuman-e-Tajran central chairman Mian Sheikh Shabbir Ahmed. According to the First Information Report (FIR), registered at Ferozewala police station on the complaint of the deceased's younger brother and former councillor, Mian Kabir Ahmed, eight unidentified armed men riding in two vehicles intercepted Shabbir Ahmed's car near SA Gardens Phase II while he was travelling to Lahore at around 10pm. The FIR states that four of the attackers opened fire on the vehicle, seriously injuring Shabbir Ahmed, who later died. Police registered the case under sections 302, 148 and 149 of the Pakistan Penal Code. Following the incident, Sheikh Shabbir Ahmed's body was taken for post-mortem examination and other legal formalities before being handed over to his family. It was later taken to his old residence, Qasr-e-Mustafa on Bangla Road, Murdike, for burial arrangements. Police spokesman Rana Muhammad Younis said the initial investigation suggested that the incident might have stemmed from an old enmity. The motive, however, has not been conclusively established. District Police Officer Sheikhupura Bilal Zafar Sheikh visited the crime scene along with police and personnel from other law-enforcement agencies. Police said forensic teams collected evidence from the site and investigators had launched a probe using modern investigative techniques. Police said CCTV cameras installed along the GT Road have provided important clues, while investigators are also examining the deceased's mobile phone call history and monitoring mobile numbers active in the area around the time he left his factory. The DPO has formed a four-member investigation team headed by SP Nawaz Sial to trace and arrest those involved, police said. The team is examining different aspects of the case in the light of available evidence. Federal Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain, who was described as a close associate of the deceased, also contacted the Punjab inspector general of police and called for the immediate arrest of those responsible, according to officials.