LAHORE - A college professor was killed in drive-by shooting in Lahore’s Iqbal Town area yesterday morning.

Police identified the victim as Rao Altaf Hussain, who was an associate professor at the Government College of Science, Wahdat Road. His body was moved to the Mayo Hospital’s morgue for autopsy. The victim sustained three bullets in the chest and head and expired on the spot, investigators said.

Hussain was coming back home after dropping off his son at a school when two motorcyclists stopped his car near a busy crossing in Iqbal Town police precincts.

The motives behind the shooting were not clear yet. However, a police officer said the victim was pursuing the murder case of his sister-in-law against a relative for the last couple of months.

Rana Qaiser, a close relative of the victim, fled abroad after police launched a murder probe against him on the complaint of Hussain. The wife of Qaiser was found dead at her house several months ago. Qaiser told the police that his wife committed suicide but Hussain informed the investigators that she was killed by her husband. According to the family, Hussain was receiving life threats from unknown men.

Investigators believe the professor was killed by hired-assassins. “One of the two gunmen was wearing a helmet while the other was wearing a jacket,” a police investigator said. “One gunmen opened straight fire on Hussain from the right side of the car while his accomplices was sitting on the motorcycle.” Both the gunmen fled on their two-wheeler instantly.

Police got the CCTV footage of the shooting from a nearby store. However, they were yet to ascertain the identity of the attackers. In the footage, the killers are seen shooting the professor with a pistol. Forensic experts also reached the spot and collected evidences from the scene.

Investigators also recorded the statements of eyewitness as several people were on the spot when the shooting took place. The shooting triggered panic among motorists during the rush hours.

Meanwhile, the police filed a murder case under section 302 of the PPC against five men on the complaint the widow. Sources said that three of the five accused were nominated in the FIR. They were Rana Qaiser, Intizar and Adnan. The other two men were yet to be identified. The police were investigating the killing with no arrest made so far.

Teens injured in accident

Three boys sustained serious injured when a pick-up van bumped into their motorcycle near Shah Kamal shrine in the Ichra police area yesterday.

An eyewitness told the police that the accident took place because of over speeding. Three boys riding on a motorcycle were going towards Ferozepur Road when a pick-up smashed into their bike. As a result, they sustained serious injuries and were rushed to a hospital where their condition was stated to be stable.

The injured were identified as Mohsin, 16, Awais, 15, and Sufyan, 17.

DRUG PEDDLERS HELD

City police arrested six drug-pushers and seized eight kilogram charas from their possession. A police spokesman said the arrests were part of a police crackdown on drug dealers. A team of Liaqatabad police conducted raids in different areas and arrested six drug peddlers. The accused were identified by police as Farhan Mahmood, Minhaj Uddin, Asif alias Shami, Tariq Masih, Samuel Masih, and Anoof Masih. Further investigations were underway.