KARACHI, June 28: A man was killed and dozens of people were injured in a clash between residents of two localities in Liaquatabad on Wednesday. Several houses and shops were plundered during the violence.

The clash broke out reportedly over an act of eve-teasing by some youths of Bandhani Colony who had gone to Qasimabad, an adjoining locality, on Tuesday night.

The two localities had been facing power breakdowns for the last three days which further fuelled the clash as the affected people gave vent to their anger and frustration by indulging in violence.

Following the incident, enraged youths belonging to the Qasimabad area attacked Bandhani Colony. Police rushed to the scene and took up position, creating a buffer between the two localities. However, at around mid-night, heavily armed youths from Bandhani Colony attacked Qasimabad residents. People of the area said that during the attack, police fled from the scene, leaving the two groups to battle it out.

Intermittent clashes continued all the night but the police chose not to enter the affected area.

On Wednesday furniture and other articles were taken out of several houses and shops by the youths who brought them to the nearby road and set them on fire. The youths reportedly misbehaved with the women present in the households. At least five motorcycles were also set afire during the violence.

Firearms were freely used in the clash in which many people sustained injuries. One of them, Sikandar, a resident of Qasimabad area, was rushed to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital in a critical condition. However, he was pronounced dead on arrival.

An anarchic situation prevailed till 4pm on Wednesday, when DIG Operations Mushtaq Shah arrived in Liaquatabad. Bitterly reprimanding his police force, he pushed them into the affected areas to restore calm.

A visit to the affected areas in the evening showed that burning household articles were still lying on roads and several shops having lost their merchandise.

Earlier, on Wednesday afternoon, Nazim of Liaquatabad Town Osama Qadri, who had tried to intervene in the matter, was reportedly manhandled and his car was also damaged by people of the affected area, forcing him to flee.

The DIG Operations managed to convince elders of the areas to resolve the matter through negotiations. The talks were under way till last reports came in.

TPO Liaquatabad Latif Siddiqui said that a peace committee comprising elite of the two rival sides had been formed to sort out the matter and ensure peace.