KARACHI, Dec 8: A youngster was killed and another wounded in firing during a protest demonstration by hundreds of charged residents of Kunwari Colony on Wednesday against the Rangers' Tuesday operation. Area people and the law-enforcers blamed each other for the shooting, officials and witnesses said.

The incident occurred during a protest by Kunwari Colony residents, who said that the agitation was a sign of growing resentment against the security officials for paralysing their lives amid fear and uncertainty.

They demanded the release of the over 300 people reportedly picked up by Rangers personnel in Tuesday's 'operation against terrorists and criminal elements' in the area.

“More than 300 area residents, mostly youngsters, took to the streets and blocked the main Manghopir road early in the morning,” said an official at the Pirabad police station. “They were protesting against the Rangers' operation and demanding the release of the people arrested in the area.”

Witnesses said intermittent gunfire was heard during the protest. Tyres were also burnt on the main roads, blocking both traffic and pedestrian movement for a while. The situation turned ugly when a heavy contingent of the Rangers reached the trouble spot to handle the situation, but the effort instead fuelled the gunfire, in which a young man was killed and another wounded.

“The firing was the act of the protesters. There was no exchange of fire between our personnel and the protesters,” said the spokesman for the Pakistan Rangers, Sindh.

The paramilitary troops' contention was, however, rejected by area people, who blamed the law-enforces for the fatal attack on the protesters.

Amid such claims and counterclaims, facts remained hazy and the situation mysterious as the police authorities avoided commenting on the issue, and those who spoke expressed their ignorance about the entire situation.

“The protest was being staged in the area lying under the Pirabad police station within the remit of the Orangi Town police and west zone of the police organisational structure,” said Rao Anwar, SP of Gadap Town. “But the man died in the firing on the other side of the road that falls under the Manghopir police station and the Gadap Town police and east zone. He was not part of the protest and was just a passerby, who came under fire.”

He said the victim was identified as 29-year-old Atiq-ur-Rahman, a resident of Bajaur Colony in Baldia Town. At the other end of the road, the firing also left one of the protesters wounded. The victim was later identified as 25-year-old Tahir Khan, a resident of Kunwari Colony.

The police and Rangers officials also did not disclose the whereabouts of the men picked up in Tuesday's operation, neither any of them came up with details of the suspects referred to as 'terrorists and criminal elements'. However, area people alleged that the two-day action by the law-enforcers only caused panic and fear among the residents of the poor neighbourhood.

“We took to the streets only to bring the plight of our area into the limelight through the media,” said Hidayatullah Khan, a resident of Kunwari Colony and one of the protesters. “It was a peaceful and calm protest with a few tyres burning on the road. It became violent and we heard firing after security officials intervened and disrupted the peaceful event.”