Maulana Sheikhupuri, driver gunned down

Monday, 14 May 2012 16:37

Posted by Shoaib-ur-Rehman Siddiqui

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RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: A religious scholar and his driver were gunned down in what appeared to be a sectarian killing in the jurisdiction of New Town police station here on Sunday.

According to police and rescue sources, religious scholar Maulana Aslam Sheikhupuri and his driver Safreen were killed while two security guards namely Najamuddin and Wazeer Ali sustained bullet injures when four unknown armed riders intercepted his car and opened fire on it near Rangoonwala Hall in Dhoraji area.

DSP Nazeer Hussain Abro said the incident took place at 1:05pm when four armed riders on two motorcycles sprayed a car (AFC-665) with bullets. Maulana Sheikhupuri, his two private security guards and driver were in the car.

He said the Maulana was sitting in the front seat and added that the armed assailants, who used 9MM pistols, fired gunshots from three sides. The attackers after committing the crime managed to flee while the injured persons were shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) for treatment where Maulana Sheikhupuri and Safreen succumbed to their injuries.

DSP Abro suspected that they might have been murdered on sectarian ground. He further said the deceased used to give religious lecture in Al Quran Courses Centre on second Sunday of every month.

Medico Legal officer (MLO) Dr Kaleem said Maulana Sheikhupuri and the driver died on the way to hospital. He said the condition of the other injured was critical, who were later shifted to a private hospital.

Following the incident, scores of his students and supporters rushed to the hospital and started chanting slogans against the rival sectarian group. Tension prevailed in many parts of the city including Gulshan Maymar, Site area, Gurumandir and others where miscreants took to streets and resorted to heavy gunshots.

Maulana Sheikhupuri, 54, was prayer leader and Shaikhul Hadees of Masjid-o-Madrassa Tawabeen, Gulshan-e-Maymar.

The deceased, who completed his education from Jamia Binoria Site, memorized the holy Quran within just 11 months. Although his legs was paralyzed when he was just three years old, he wrote hundreds of religious books and gave a number of religious lectures on different topics. He hailed from Shaikhupura, Punjab and left behind two widows and six children.

Hundreds of thousands of his students and other religious leaders attended his funeral prayers, which was offered at Masjid-o-Madarsa Tawabeen, Gulshan Maymar. Later, he was laid to rest in the premises of the Masjid.