KARACHl: A policeman was shot dead by unidentified persons when he was returning home after visiting a graveyard on the outskirts of the city on Sunday, police and his relatives said.

The SITE-Superhighway Industrial Area police said Sub-Inspector Amir Ali, 52, who was in plain clothes, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen `due to unknown reasons` near Chakar Hotel on the M-9 motorway.

Victim`s brother-in-law Wazir Ali told the media that Amir`s grandson died two years ago and he frequently visited his grave in Wadi-i-Hussain to offer fateha.

On Sunday, he had gone to the graveyard on his motorbike and offered fateha, he said, adding that when he was returning his home in Federal B. Area, unidentified armed men shot him in the chest.

He was taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where doctors pronounced him dead.

His funeral prayers were held at an imambargah in Incholi Society.

Talking to reporters, SSP-East Syed Irfan Bahadur said that the victim was armed and the killers also took away his pistol.

He said that a spent bullet casing found from the crime scene had been sent to the police`s forensic science lab while geofencing of the area was also being carried out.

He opined that apparently the officer was killed by robbers over resistance.

`We are investigating the case from different angles to ascertain whether it`s a robbery-related incident or targeted killing, the SSP said.

Meanwhile, interim Chief Minister Justice Maqbool Baqar took notice of the killing and ordered the authorities to investigate and submit a report to him at the earliest.