KARACHI: Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, on Friday claimed to have arrested three men belonging to one of the gangs operating in Lyari for their alleged involvement in a grenade attack on a medical store over non-payment of protection money.

A Rangers spokesperson said that the held suspects were using SIMs of foreign countries and had made a WhatsApp group to stay in touch with other gangsters.

On March 1, unidentified men threw a hand grenade at a shop in Lyari’s Khadda Market.

The paramilitary force had established a special team to trace the suspects. The team after ascertaining the causes of the incident carried out intelligence-based actions in Lyari and adjoining Garden area and apprehended three suspects identified as Abdul Aziz, Majid and Sohail alias Akram.

During initial questioning, the held suspects “confessed” to have carried out the grenade attack as the store’s owner had refused to pay them Rs300,000 as protection money. The suspects had also thrown a pamphlet of a banned outfit there in a bid to divert attention of the law enforcers. They also revealed that they worked as facilitators of Sheeraz Zikri, brother of the killed gangster Ghaffar Zikri. “The held suspects were involved in extorting traders of Kharadar, Khadda Market, Ali Mohammed Lane, Lea Market, Kalri, Bihar Colony and other areas of Lyari,” said the Rangers spokesperson.

The paramilitary force claimed to have seized a grenade, one detonator, one Kalashnikov, one 9mm pistol and ammunition from them. They were later handed over to the police for further legal action.

Separately, the Rangers claimed to have arrested three suspects allegedly involved in the murder of a watchman of a Tariq Road shopping mall.

On Feb 24, Noor Zahid, the watchman of the Dubai Shopping Mall, was shot dead by robbers when he resisted their robbery bid.

The paramilitary force detained M. Akram alias Tiku, M. Baqar alias Malik and M. Asif alias Jogi.

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2019