Karachi police said on Wednesday that a man had been arrested for allegedly firing on citizens who had torched a heavy vehicle that had struck a young man and injured his wife a day earlier.

Angered citizens on Tuesday had set a dumper truck on fire in the city’s Garden area after it crashed into a couple on a motorcycle, killing 23-year-old Shahzeb Shahid and injuring his wife Misbah. A case was also registered against Liaquat Mehsud, the Sindh president of the All Dumper Truck Owners Association, and other suspects for firing on the enraged protesters at the scene.

South Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Syed Asad Raza on Wednesday said that police had arrested one suspect, identified as one of Mehsud’s gunmen, on charges of firing on the protesters.

The weapon used in the incident was also recovered, he said in a statement.

“Raids are being conducted to arrest the president of the dumpers association, Liaquat Mehsud,” he added.

Ex-MQM-P lawmaker booked under Peca for threatening Mehsud

Separately, Garden police also registered a first information report (FIR) against Kamran Farooqi, a former MPA of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), for allegedly threatening Mehsud.

The case was registered on behalf of the state through a police officer, and invoked the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca), as well as Section 506-B (criminal intimidation if threat be to cause death or grievous hurt) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

In the FIR, complainant Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Rao Muhammad Shahrukh said he was present at his office on November 4, when he came across a video on social media at 6pm.

In the video, as per the ASI, a man identified as Kamran Farooqi was seen saying: “This wretched person, was fortunate today that he went away a few moments earlier, otherwise he would have been burned along with his vehicle. This is a public reaction.”

The video was accompanied by similar text stating that Mehsud was “fortunate” to have escaped, the complainant added.

The complainant recalled that a dumper truck had killed Shahzeb on Nishtar Road in the Ramswami area and injured his wife Misbah yesterday. After that incident, the people had set the dumper ablaze. Subsequently, Mehsud, along with his gunmen and others, had arrived at the spot.

ASI Shahrukh noted that the police had already registered two separate cases about the incident at the Garden police station. He contended that Farooqi spread “mischief” on social media and threatened the dumper association’s head. Therefore, the ex-lawmaker had committed cognisable crimes under Peca and the PPC, the officer asserted.