KARACHI, July 21: Three persons killed in the ‘accidental blast’ in a flat in Patel Para on Saturday evening were identified on Sunday.

According to Jamshed Quarters police, they were named Muhammad Subhan, 35, Muhammad Naeem, 34, and Matinuddin, 34. A man identified as Imran, 35, was wounded and is in custody of the police for interrogation.

“All the deceased were residents of Dhobi Ghatt in Jutland Line, Lines Area,” said SSP Raja Umar Khattab, who is head of CID’s counter-terrorism unit.

He said all belonged to the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi’s Asif Ramzi group.

“Matin’s brother Abbas was also killed while making a bomb in Korangi’s Allahwala Town in 2005,” said the senior police officer.

“Subhan had brought a ‘live bomb’ in a fruit,” said the SSP. He said that ostensibly the bomb went off due to mishandling.

Imran sustained serious wounds because he was asleep at a side in the room while two bodies were badly damaged. He said a remote control device was also found in the flat located on the third floor. He assumed that the bomb might have gone off when the suspects were trying to install a battery to it at 7.5pm.

The police officer said Matin was living on the second floor of the same building and he had arranged a rented flat for Imran on the third floor recently. Matin had sent his family to his in-laws at the time of the blast.

Mr Khattab said it was yet to be known about their possible target.

“The bomb was live, it means they were planning to target someone or some place the same day or next day,” opined the CID SSP, who has extensive experience in dealing with bomb cases in the metropolis.

He said Matin had been detained twice in 2009 and 2001 in other than explosive cases. He was released from prison around five months ago in an arms case.

He said Imran, who had a dent repair shop in Defence Phase-II, was a ‘facilitator’. All belonged to the same locality in the Lines Area and they had shifted to Patel Para recently as they felt safe there. Besides, they feared frequent raids in Lines Area, said the officer.

Meanwhile, the Jamshed Quarters police

have registered an FIR (255/2013) under Sections 302 (premeditated murder), 324 (attempted murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 3/4 of the Explosive Substance Act and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act on a complaint of the SHO of the Jamshed Quarters police station against the killed and wounded men.

Karachi AIGP Ghulam Qadir Thebo said Asif Ramzi group had been known for targeting Shia leaders and the group members’ death in the accidental blast might have saved more lives in the metropolis. Regarding the attack on municipal commissioner Matanat Ali near on Saturday, he said the senior officer had not received threats from any group. He said CID SSP Aslam Khan was coming behind the vehicle of Mr Ali, but he slowed down his vehicle and remained unhurt.