Sikh shopkeeper gunned down in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: A Sikh shopkeeper was shot and killed by an unknown assailant in the capital city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday, according to police.

The police confirmed that the victim — Dayal Singh — was shot while he was at his general store and died on spot.

The law enforcers collected 30 pistol shells and other evidence from the crime scene.

They also confirmed that CCTV footage from the site is being obtained.

However, the motive behind the murder is not yet known and police have not ruled out the possibility that the incident was motivated by a personal grudge.

Following the incident, SSP Operations Haroon-ul-Rashid Khan went to the residence of the Sikh businessman to express his condolences to the deceased man's relatives.

During the meeting, he briefed the relatives about the investigation so far and assured them of arresting the killers at the earliest.  

Singh has left behind a widow and three children.

The incident comes a day after Hindu doctor Birbal Genani — former Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) senior director of health and eye specialist — was shot dead by unknown assailants in the port city.

Dr Genani, according to police, along with his assistant lady doctor was heading to Gulshan-e-Iqbal from Ramswamy when unidentified armed men targeted their car near Garden interchange on the Lyari Expressway.

The ex-KMC director of health died on the spot while his assistant sustained bullet injuries.

Talking to journalists, SSP City Arif Aziz termed Dr Genani’s murder as a “target killing”, adding that the exact reason behind the murder is not known yet.

The lady doctor — who works with him — was aboard the vehicle when the unidentified assailants attacked the vehicle.

The murders have sparked outrage on social media as people have voiced concerns over the matter of the safety of those belonging to minority communities.