KARACHI, Jan 4: Following the Supreme Court’s order to arrest the accused in the Shahzeb murder case, police raided the houses of the suspects in Karachi and Hyderabad on Friday, but failed to arrest any of them.

Officials said police had raided the houses of two key suspects --- Shahrukh Jatoi and Siraj Talpur --- but only to find their servants. Police picked up a few servants but set them free after brief questioning, they said.

“No formal arrest has been made so far,” SSP Imran Shaukat, Sindh police spokesman, said. “A house of Siraj Talpur in Defence area of Karachi was raided, but it was found abandoned. Similarly, houses of Shahrukh Jatoi in Defence and Clifton areas were raided, but no-one was held.”

In Hyderabad, police raided the house of Siraj in Qasimabad, but return empty-handed.

A servant of Sikandar Jatoi, father of Shahrukh, had been held, but released after questioning, SSP Shaukat said.

“Meanwhile, we have included the names of two more suspects in the FIR --- Sajjad Talpur, a brother of Siraj, and another man with the surname of Khan,” he added.

Twenty-year-old Shahzeb Khan was allegedly shot dead by his multi-millionaire young neighbours in Defence last month over a minor argument. Reports suggest that the suspects escaped from the country after the murder.

“Karachi police are conducting raids across the country and every effort is being made to arrest the suspects,” the Sindh police spokesman said.

Mohammad Hussain Khan adds from Hyderabad: Police raided a number of places in Hyderabad and Matiari districts on Friday and picked up three close relatives of Siraj Talpur.

So far four family members of Siraj have been picked up.

Sohrab Talpur and his brother Sadaruddin Talpur were held in Qasimabad phase-II area. Siraj’s maternal uncle Saeen Dino was picked up from Tajpur-Nasarpur area of Matiari district.

“Some others were also picked up, but they were set free after questioning,” said a police source.

Another source claimed that another relative of Siraj had been taken into custody from Hyderabad, but his identity was kept secret.

Senior police officers said the relatives of Siraj would be pressurised to surrender him because there was a tremendous pressure on the Sindh police after the Supreme Court’s order for the arrest of the accused.

Meanwhile, a police party from Karachi led by DSP Wasif Qureshi raided a cement factory on Hyderabad-Tando Mohammad Khan road owned by Sikandar Jatoi, father of suspect Shahrukh Jatoi, on Friday night.

Police searched the guest house in the factory’s officer colony and other places, but no arrest was made. “The team locked the main gate of the factory,” said a police source.