KARACHI: The city police chief on Thursday said that people resorting to jubilant/aerial firing on New Year’s Eve would be booked under charges of attempted murder.

“If any person [is] hurt due to the firing, it would be construed that it was not aerial firing but the person was directly involved in injuring the victim,” said Karachi police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon.

He pointed out that each year, around 20 to 30 people got injured in aerial firing incidents. He warned the citizens not to take the law into their own hands.

According to police data, one person, Subhan, was killed while several others were hurt in aerial firing on New Year’s Eve 2017 while 19 persons including women suffered bullet wounds in 2018. Similarly, 19 persons including women and children received bullet injuries in 2019 while in 2020, 14 persons suffered wounds.

‘Militant’ held

Police’s Special Investigation Unit on Thursday claimed to have arrested a suspected militant, Mohammed Ayub alias Babar, and recovered one hand grenade and one unlicensed pistol from his custody.

The held militant was involved in 13 cases of murder, attempted murder and others, according to the SSP SIU.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2020