KARACHI, May 31: As the by-election campaign in Landhi gains momentum, the police have picked up numerous activists of Mohajir Qaumi Movement during night-long raids in Landhi and other areas on suspicion of involvement in criminal activities.

Since the beginning of the campaign for Landhi’s National Assembly seat (NA-255) more than 1,500 people, reportedly activists or sympathizers of MQM-H, have been picked up, according to the party spokesman. He also claimed that about 1,100 people had been sent to jail.

This was not all. Four party activists — Saleem, Arshad Mehmood, Javed and Shahid — were killed at different places and Zamir Khan was shot dead by the police, he told Dawn on Saturday.

The spokesman for MQM-H said that in the early hours of Saturday heavy contingents of the police raided different areas in Landhi, scaled the walls of houses and whisked away more than 250 people. He alleged that the police kept the detainees in rice and grain godowns in Quaidabad.

About 55 people had been lodged in the Landhi police station. He claimed that those picked up were not shown as arrested by the police.

A senior police official, however, contested the MQM’s claim, saying the police did not conduct raids to arrests people. He said Landhi remained peaceful on Saturday. Security was, however, provided to ensure smooth electioneering in the area.

The MQM-H spokesman contended that the police — led by Town Police Officer Latif Siddiqui and the SHOs of Landhi, Quaidabad and PIB Colony police stations — raided different houses in Landhi No 6. They misbehaved with the women and other family members of the party activists and picked up 50 to 60 youths, who were lodged in the Landhi police station.

The police, he said, also raided other areas of Landhi, Shah Faisal Colony and Malir, from where they picked up more than 250 people who were kept in illegal confinement in warehouses in Quaidabad. He claimed that the families of those detained were warned that if they staged protests during a possible visit of government representative to Landhi, their beloved ones would be booked in criminal cases.

He said one of the four leaders who had gone missing on Friday — Wazeer Hussain Naqvi, a member of the Landhi sector committee — had been found badly injured near Ismail Goth graveyard. Other three leaders, Feroz Haider, Raees Ahmed and Azhar Usman had returned to their homes safely.

These leaders had claimed that they were kidnapped by the Muttahida activists but escaped. Wazeer Hussain was subjected to torture.