KARACHI, Aug 10: Police, on Sunday, failed to find any motive or a clue to the killers of the five brothers, who were gunned down late Saturday night on Jahangir Road.

Five brothers in a Suzuki Hi-roof left their medical shop in Soldier Bazaar No.3, for their Hussainabad home on Saturday night. As they reached Jahangir Road No.1, near Baloch Para, three men on a Honda-125 motorcycle intercepted them, shot them and escaped. Four of the occupants died on the spot and another died at the Civil Hospital. They were identified as Mehmood, Imran, Javed, Asif and Ismail.

Although all the brothers had beard, they were not affiliated with any political or religious party or group, the police said.

Investigation showed that it was certainly a targeted killing and the assassins acted as professional killers. Two of the assailants got down the motorcycle and one of their accomplices remained on the motorbike. They first shot Mehmood, who was driving the vehicle. They hit the vital parts of their victims and fled. However, the motive of the killing had not been ascertained so far.

SSP Investigation-I Manzoor Mughal said, “Three brothers Mehmmod, Ismail and Asif, who worked at their Tawakkal Traders near Denso Hall, used to pick their two brothers Javed and Imran from Time Medical Store in Soldier Bazaar while returning home in Hi-roof. Their sixth brother Sohail, who escaped death, used to go home on his motorcycle.”

He said that on Saturday too, they left their shop as a routine. They were attacked near Baloch Para. Sohail, who escaped death as he was on a motorcycle, told the police that they did not have any enmity and neither they were affiliated with any political or religious group.

Police sources said Sohail, who was ahead with a considerable distance from the ill-fated Hi-roof, heard the fire shots. However, he did not take notice of that, as it had become a routine to hear sound of firing or fire-crackers. He got worried when his brothers did not reach home after the lapse of half an hour. Later, he received a call from the Edhi Foundation and heard the tragic news, the sources added.

They said that after the incident, the bodies and injured were shifted to Civil Hospital. The injured was not taken care of properly at the hospital, where he succumbed to wounds. The hospital authorities refused to conduct post-mortem examination on the bodies saying that the mortuary was closed. The police with the help of Edhi ambulances shifted the bodies to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where the bodies remained unattended for two-and-a-half hours.

The sources close to the family said that the victims belonged to a religious family, but they were not affiliated with any party or group. They informed that Mehmood, Ismail and Javed were married. Mehmood had six children, and Ismail had two. Asif and Imran were engaged two months ago.

It was learnt that the family had arranged a dinner to celebrate their engagements on Sunday. However, after the tragic incident of Saturday night, the celebration turned into mourning.

The funeral prayers of the victims were held on Sunday morning. All the deceased were laid to rest at Mewashah graveyard. A heavy contingent of police and paramilitary forces were deployed to maintain law and order.

MOURNING: Markets, shops, hotels and other business concerns remained closed since Sunday morning in Hussainabad, parts of Azizabad and Karimabad on Sunday as a mark of respect amid mourning, mainly by businessman community which dominates in the area.