KARACHI, Jan 27 A 28-year-old woman, mother of two, was shot dead on Tuesday allegedly by her husband in Gulistan-i-Jauhar, witnesses and police said.

They said the suspect, Khalil Hussain, a private security guard, was caught by the neighbours when he tried to escape after firing a bullet to the head of his wife, Sehar Begum.The Sharea Faisal police quoted the suspect as telling them that he killed the wife in a fit of temper when she delayed serving him dinner. He said he had married her for love some five years ago.

Sources at the medico-legal section of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where the victim's body was taken for a post-mortem examination, told Dawn that a single bullet, shot to the back of the victim's head, exited from the right eye.

The police registered a case (FIR 69/2009) against the suspect under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of the victim's father, Abdur Razzaq.

The police also registered another case (FIR 71/2009) against the uxoricide suspect under Section 13-D of the PPC for possessing the unlicensed pistol he had used to kill his wife.

Two motorcyclists killed

Two young friends were killed when a fast-moving truck ran them over near Bhains Colony Mor on the National Highway late on Monday night.

The Shah Latif Town police said Mohammed Asif, son of Mohammed Hanif, and Mohammed Ashfaq, son of Mohammed Yaseen, both in their early 20s and residents of Shah Faisal Colony, were returning home on their motorcycles after visiting the tomb of Samandari Baba when a Mazda truck ran over them.

The police said the two victims, auto mechanics, were fatally injured in the accident and died on their way to hospital.

They said the truck driver, Mohammed Mazhar, was arrested and booked (FIR 34/2009) under Section 320 for killing the victim by his reckless driving and his vehicle was impounded.

Cylinder blast

A 23-year-old cleaner of a truck, loaded with gas cylinders, was killed when his vehicle collided with another truck near Kathore Mor in Gadap.

The police said the cleaner, Imran, was killed instantly and the driver, Salar, injured when one of the cylinders exploded and the vehicle caught fire after it collided with another truck, whose driver fled the scene abandoning his vehicle.

The police said that efforts were being made to track down the driver and the owner of the abandoned vehicle.

Kidnapper held

An alleged kidnapper-cum-bandit was arrested red-handed in Khawaja Ajmair Nagri.

The police said that Tariq Mehmood, his nine-year-old son, Waqas, his 14-year-old paternal nephew, Wajahat, and his brother-in-law, Muzammil, reached a marriage hall in North Nazimabad to attend a Valima function at around 11.45pm on Tuesday.

They said the victims were still in their Cultus car when two bandits held them hostage at gunpoint and deprived them of their cellular phones.

The police said one of the bandits sat in the driving seat and his accomplices followed them in their car.

They said the victims overpowered the suspect when they reached Khawaja Ajmair Nagri and in their struggle the suspect rammed the car into the pavement.

The police said the onlookers gathered at the scene and caught the alleged bandit, who was later handed over to a police party patrolling the area.

The suspect was identified as Syed Asif Bukhari, son of Syed Azhar Bukhari, a resident of Chapel Apartments in Clifton.

The police said the accomplices of the suspect fled in their car when they saw the suspect having been overpowered.

The Sharah-i-Noorjahan police registered a case (FIR 44/2009) against the arrested suspects and his accomplices under sections 365 (kidnapping), 392 (robbery) and 34 (common intention) on the complaint of the victim.

Another case (FIR 76/2009) was registered against suspect Bukhari under Section 13-D of the Arms Ordinance on behalf of the state for possessing an unlicensed pistol.