Noida, May 25 (IANS): Armed miscreants looted a family, killed one of its members and molested women near Jewar in Uttar Pradesh early on Thursday morning, police said.

The incident occurred some 60 km from here on the Jewar-Bulandshahr highway around 1.30 a.m. when eight members, including four women, of a Greater Noida-based family was headed to Bulandshahr to visit an ailing relative in a hospital there.

The victims said five miscreant forced them to stop the car by shooting at its tyres. They then molested and attempted to rape the women present.

On resisting, the attackers shot Shakeel Qureshi, who died. The victims were also looted of their valuables and cash.

"We are hunting down the criminals. No one has been arrested so far. The statements of the family members have been recorded," a senior police official told IANS.

According to the senior officials of Uttar Pradesh Police, the incident occurred on the highway, about two kilometres from Jewar towards Bulandshahr.

Several such crimes, including murders and gangrapes, have been reported in the past on the same route and the specific location around Jewar in Gautam Buddh Nagar district, and around Bulandshahr.