2 dead, 85 injured in celebratory aerial firing incidents in Karachi on Independence Day eve
0
Two people were killed while 85 were injured in celebratory firing carried out in Karachi on the eve of Pakistan’s 76th Independence Day, officials said on Monday.
Jamshed Quarters Station House Officer (SHO) Gul Baig said a 25-year-old woman was travelling along with her family on a motorbike and was hit by a bullet fired from an unknown direction when she was passing through the People’s Chowrangi.
She was taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) where doctors pronounced her dead, according to police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed.
In another incident, Baghdadi SHO Ghulam Yasin said a man asleep on the roof of his house in Lyari’s Aath Chowk was shot dead by a stray bullet.
The SHO added that the man was taken to Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) where doctors pronounced him dead.
Meanwhile, Dr Syed said 32 people with gunshot wounds were brought to JPMC for treatment, with one youth among them in critical condition due to a bullet wound on his head.
She said the injured were aged between 12 to 55, adding that five of them were teenagers and eight of them were females.
Dr Syed said Abbasi Shaheed Hospital also received 32 people with bullet injuries, adding that they were aged between eight to 50 years with eight teenagers and eight women among them.
Further, she said CHK received 21 wounded people aged between seven months to 60 years with five teenagers and three females among them.
The police surgeon said a seven-month-old baby was shot and wounded at People’s Square near Burnes Road in the limits of Aram Bagh.
Later, police said eight suspects were arrested in the metropolis on allegations of aerial firing on the eve of Independence Day.
According to a statement issued by City police, six people were taken into custody in Kalakot and Kharadar and five pistols were seized from them.
They were booked on charges of attempted murder, possessing illegal weapons and aerial firing, the statement said.
Separately, Central district police said in a statement that two suspects were arrested at Supermarket and Liaquatabad Bridge and two pistols, one of which was unlicenced, were found in their possession.
Imtiaz Ali is a Karachi-based reporter for Dawn with over 25 years of experience in the field. His reporting portfolio encompasses crime, politics, and the provincial legislature, alongside coverage of the courts, government affairs, and the health sector.
