KARACHI, Jan 7: Two men, including a young banker, were shot dead in the city in as many attacks apparently on sectarian grounds on Monday evening, police said.

They said that 24-year-old Ali Raza Naqvi was returning home from his workplace on a motorcycle along with colleague Mohammad Rais when assailants, also riding a motorbike, intercepted them on main University Road near NIPA, fired at him and rode away.

While Mr Rais remained unhurt in the attack, the victim suffered three bullet wounds and was rushed to a nearby private hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival.

Later, the body was taken to the Incholi Imambargah, the police said.

The victim was employed at a private bank.

A spokesman for the Sindh police, SSP Imran Shaukat, said that it appeared that the victim was killed on sectarian grounds.

A Muttahida Qaumi Movement statement issued on Monday night said that the victim was a worker of MQM’s Labour Division (Allied Bank unit) and his killing was aimed at fomenting sectarian unrest in the city.

In two months, several persons associated with the profession of banking have been gunned down in the city.

On Jan 2, a senior banker, identified as Javed Memon, was shot dead in the SITE area.

On Dec 20, 2012 a 50-year-old banker, Ashiq Abbas, was shot dead in Lines Area.

On Nov 6, 2012, two bankers — Allama Aftab Haider Jafri and his associate Shahid Ali Mirza — were gunned down on Preedy Street.

In the Pak Colony area, assailants riding a motorcycle sprayed a car with bullets on Manghopir Road within the remit of the Pak Colony police station and fled.

The car driver, 40-year-old Murtaza Alvi, suffered bullet wounds and was rushed to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Following the medico-legal formalities at the health facility, the body was moved to the Fatimyah ghusal khana at Numaih.

The police said that the victim was associated with some hardware business and lived in Kharadar. He was heading home from work when he was targeted.

A spokesman for the Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen strongly condemned the killings of Mr Naqvi and Alvi and said that there was no writ of law and innocent people were being killed on a daily basis in the city.

Wounded prayer leader dies

A man who suffered bullet wounds in an attack on Dec 31 in New Karachi died during treatment on Monday.

Police said Mualana Shaukat Gul was the prayer leader of a mosque in Lasi Goth, New Karachi, and on Dec 31 he had gone to meet someone in Sector 5-E where he was targeted.

The police believed that he was targeted on sectarian grounds.

Truck driver shot dead

A truck driver was shot dead at the Northern Bypass in the early hours of Monday.

Police said that the incident took place within the remit of the Manghopir police station, where armed men riding a motorcycle opened fire on the truck being driven by Arif Abdul Razzak, 21.

The victim was taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Area SHO Nasir Mehmood said that the victim was a resident of North Karachi’s Sector 11-D and was heading to a poultry farm. He was unmarried.

The police said that he was killed over some personal enmity and he was not affiliated with any political or religious party.

Body found in gunny bag

The body of an unidentified man, stuffed in a gunny bag, was found in Orangi Town on Monday.

Police said that the body was found in Toori Bangash Colony within the remit of the Iqbal Market police station.

The body was shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where doctors said that the victim, aged around 48 years, had been strangulated. The body bore no torture marks.

Following the medico-legal formalities, the body was moved to the Edhi morgue for identification.

Man found shot dead

The body of an unidentified man was found at a desolate place in Mehmoodabad on Monday.

An area police officer said that the at first it seemed that the body was of some drug addict who had died of cold, but a close look revealed that he had been shot in the head.

Following the medico-legal formalities, the body was taken to the Edhi morgue for a want of identification.