KARACHI: Two young men were shot dead and their friend was found wounded along the Malir river on Saturday, officials said.

They said that police were informed by some motorists about three young men lying unconscious along the Malir river near Memon Goth. The police and rescue workers reached the spot, where they found two of them dead.

“All three men had been shot multiple times from a very close range,” said DSP Pervez Ali Shah. “The bodies and the wounded were taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where doctors said the wounded is out of danger.”

He said the police recorded the statement of the wounded, identified as Muhammad Ameen Baloch, who said that the two dead were Pervez Ali Baloch and Kalu Baloch, and that they had been kidnapped from Salaar Goth, where they lived, and brought to an unknown place, he said.

“The three men were tortured and later brought to a place along the Malir river near Memon Goth, where armed men fired at them. The attackers left them there thinking that all the three men were dead,” said DSP Shah.

The area DSP suspected a rivalry between two criminal gangs of the area that led to the deadly episode.

However, when asked about the criminal history of the victims, he said right now the police were not sure about their criminal record but they were obtaining details from different police stations.

“All the victims are in their mid or late 20s. A recent spate of killing in this particular area appears to be a result of infighting between criminal groups having connection with gangs in Lyari,” said DSP Shah.

Man shot dead in Lyari

A young man was shot dead in Lyari on Saturday, police said.

They said that armed men fired shots at Anwar Hussain aka Kabari near the Slaughterhouse area.

“The victim was a resident of the same area,” said an official at the Baghdadi police station. “He had no criminal record but he was known for having close links with gangsters and people associated with criminal gangs. It appears that he was targeted because of the links.”

Killing in Baldia Town

A man was shot dead in Baldia Town.

The area police said that armed men targeted 29-year-old Tahir Baloch near a bus terminal in Yousuf Goth.

“The victim was about to leave for upcountry in a bus when armed riders fired at him. He sustained two bullet wounds and died on the spot. The motive for the killing and the people behind the incident is not yet clear,” said an official at the Saeedabad police station.

Suspect killed in encounter

A suspected bandit was killed in a shoot-out with police in the Surjani Town area on Saturday.

Surjani Town SHO Bashir Wadho said that some vegetable traders informed a police patrol about a mugging incident. The police swiftly reached the spot and found two motorcyclists fleeing. After a brief chase the suspects were intercepted on a main road near Khuda Ki Basti, where in an ensuing encounter one of them was killed, he added.

His accomplice, however, managed to escape. The deceased was also identified by the traders as the man who robbed them.

Two pistols, a motorbike, cash and mobile phones were also recovered from his possession, said the area SHO.

Published in Dawn, August 31st , 2014