A 24-year-old woman was left critically injured after she was shot, allegedly by her husband, over a “family dispute” within the premises of the Karachi City Court on Monday, according to the police.
The victim’s father told media that his daughter was at the court for a khula (separation) case when the suspect, identified as Sikandar, opened fire.“She was shot inside the chamber of the judge,” he added.
The incident also left a bystander, Dadan, 60, wounded. Both the injured were immediately taken to Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi, a City Court police official said.Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed said the woman’s condition was “critical”.
In a statement issued later in the day, the Karachi police also confirmed that the woman was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.
It attributed “family dispute” as a probable motive behind the attack, adding that the suspect was arrested at the crime scene along with a pistol. The statement added that Karachi Additional Inspector General of Police (IGP) Javed Alam Odho took notice of the attack and sought a detailed inquiry report from South DIG Irfan Ali Baloch on an urgent basis as to how the suspect brought a weapon inside the court despite security arrangements.
“The Karachi police chief has taken notice of the negligence and carelessness of the police inside City Courts,” it stated. Odho has also ordered departmental action against responsible police officers over their alleged negligence, the statement added.
A first information report (FIR) of the incident was not filed by the time this story was published.
On the other hand, the woman’s lawyer, Aziz Dev, said the suspect was the brother of an additional district sessions judge and had “tortured his wife five months ago”.
The attack, he said, took place during the pre-trial. “My client has three children, of which the youngest is six months old,” Dev told media, adding that he had earlier requested the court to search the suspect before entry but the request was not granted. Earlier this year, a 19-year-old girl was shot dead at the City Court, allegedly by her father, over ‘honour’.
