KARACHI: The son of an Imambargah caretaker was gunned down in the Gulberg area on Wednesday evening just hours after a shopkeeper was killed in Nazimabad on sectarian grounds, while the car mechanic targeted a day ago in a suspected sectarian attack died during treatment at hospital, officials said.

All the three victims were Shia, police said.

Syed Hammad Ali Naqvi was targeted in front of Qasr-i-Abu Talib Imambargah in Karimabad by armed motorcyclists, the police said.

He was taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival, said a hospital official.

“The victim was the son of the caretaker of the Imambargah, Abbas Raza, and the murder appeared to be the outcome of sectarianism,” said Gulberg SHO Farooq Sanjrani.

A spokesperson of the Majlis-i-Wahdat-i-Muslimeen said he was targeted inside the Imambargah.

Earlier, two shopkeepers were killed in Nazimabad and Liaquatabad on sectarian grounds, officials said.Syed Sami Abbas Zaidi, 35, was gunned down at his ‘Mashallah General Store’ in Gol Market, Nazimabad, the police said.

He was rushed to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival, they added.

“It appeared to be an act of sectarian killing,” said Nazimabad SHO Ejaz Lodhi.

Referring to the murder, the MWM spokesman said that two men were gunned down within six hours but the law-enforcement agencies were conspicuous by their absence.

Meanwhile, the car mechanic who had been targeted at his shop on Tuesday night died during treatment at the hospital, officials said.

They said Ibne Raza Haider had been wounded in the gun attack on his shop by armed motorcyclists in the C-1 area of Liaquatabad. Three other persons, including a boy, had also sustained gunshot wounds in the attack. Ibne Raza died during treatment at the hospital. “The real target was Ibne Raza,” said Super Market SHO Rizwan Patel, suspecting that the attack was carried out on sectarian grounds.

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2014