KARACHI: A passer-by was shot dead by armed robbers in the New Karachi area on Tuesday, police said.

The victim, identified as Shabbir Qasim, was a watchman at a factory in the area.

SSP-Central Zeeshan Shafiq Siddiqi said CCTV footage showed that armed robbers were looting a citizen in the area and when he put up resistance, the muggers resorted to firing. As a result, a bullet hit passer-by Shabbir who was on his way to have breakfast.

He was taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where doctors declared him dead upon arrival.

Four shot dead in separate incidents across city A 70-year-old man, Iqbal Ismail, was shot dead in Nazimabad’s Gol Market on Tuesday, police said.

Central SSP Zeeshan Shafiq Siddiqi said the murder may be related to some enmity. He added that the deceased was allegedly involved in a murder case in the past. However, the victim’s son, Asif, told the media that they had no enmity with anyone. He said his father was on his way to offer fajr prayer when he was killed.

The victim had retired from the shipping industry and he was a resident of Nazimabad-3. The police said CCTV footage obtained from the area showed that two armed pillion riders had ostensibly chased and killed him.

In a separate incident, Abdul Majeed, 45, was shot and killed by unknown suspects due to personal enmity inside his house in Mehran Town near Shaitan Chowk.

Korangi Industrial Area SHO Faraz Ali Khan said some unidentified suspects entered the victim’s house and killed him. He added that the victim was arrested in a criminal case and sent to prison in the past. He was released from prison in Sept 2023. He had two wives and the police suspected that the murder might be related to his second wife, said the SHO.

Whereas a 41-year-old man was found shot dead in Manzoor Colony on Tuesday.

Baloch Colony SHO Mohammed Naeem Rajput said a bullet riddled body with torture marks was recovered from a house in Sector-B near Shalimar Bakery. The police suspected some personal enmity behind the murder.

The SHO said the victim was alone in the house when the incident occurred as his wife had been living with her parents for the last two months after developing differences with him while his teenage son was living with his uncle.

The officer added that the body was found in naked condition and it appeared that initially, the suspect(s) tortured the victim with a hammer and then shot him.

Separately, a body with bullet marks was found near Old Sabzi Mandi on Tuesday.

PIB Colony police said that the body of an unidentified man in his mid-40s was found wrapped up in a blanket from a garbage dump. He was killed by firing. The corpse was shifted to the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi for medico-legal formalities and to ascertain his identity.

Meanwhile, the police on Tuesday claimed to have conducted a raid in Old Golimar, arrested two suspected gangsters and recovered a huge quantity of heroin, ‘ice’ and crystal worth millions of rupees from their custody.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2024