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KARACHI, Aug 16: Lyari remained in the grip of tension and fear on Thursday following the killing of three gangsters, including Majeed Speed, in the gang-war continuing for weeks.
Shopkeepers did not pull up their shutters in the neighbourhoods of Kalakot and Chakiwara and the police intensified patrolling in the affected localities. SP Lyari Fayyaz Khan told Dawn that an uneasy calm prevailed in the area amid fears of a violent reaction by the gangsters to the killing of their ringleader by police.
“Our patrols are keeping a vigilant eye in the area and we are also conducting snap-checking of suspected vehicles to check the movement of criminal elements,” he said.
He said two gangsters, Naeem Mama and Ustad Mohammed, belonging to the Rehman Dakait gang, were arrested and an AK-47 assault rifle (Kalashnikov) and a TT pistol were recovered from their possession.
Meanwhile, the body of Majeed Speed, kept in the Edhi morgue, remained unclaimed as nobody turned up to collect the same till Thursday night. However, the body of his alleged gang-member Hasan Mohajir was received by his brother, Muslim Shah, a resident of Shah Faisal Colony.
Hospital sources said Majeed Speed and Hasan Mohajir, one of his associates, received multiple wounds in a volley of shots fired with automatic weapons.
Area people told Dawn that Majeed Speed was born to a tea vendor in Rexer Lane and raised in Kalakot.
The gangster, who was also wanted in a murder case in Iran, joined the Babu Dakait gang some 16 years back and had fled to Iran some four years back when a massive operation against drug traffickers was launched in Lyari.
He was stated to have been also to Japan and Dubai.On his return from Iran, Majeed Speed reportedly joined the Arshad Pappu gang. Area people said the gangster was involved in criminal activities along with other gang members, including Mulla Nasir, who was killed by Majeed hours before he himself fell to bullets.Some people of the area said Majeed Speed had kept Rs4 million and a sizeable quantity of gold with a woman in Lyari. They said he had returned Pakistan from Iran only two days before Wednesday’s clash. Some time over the two days, he went to the woman and demanded his cash and gold. However, the woman told him that the money and gold had been taken away by Mulla Nasir.
According to the area people, the matter was actually the bone of contention between Majeed Speed and Mulla Nasir, who had resurfaced a year ago after the arrest of his ringleader Arshad Pappu. Majeed Speed killed Mulla Nasir after an exchange of hot words over the booty and fled the scene along with his companions, they said.
They went on to say that Mulla Nasir’s gang members followed the attackers, who took shelter in Gul Mohammed Lane. However, Mulla Nasir’s men used a mosque’s loudspeakers to warn that they would blow up the house if Majeed and his companions did not surrender.
Local residents claimed that Majeed Speed and his companions were killed by the Mulla Nasir’s men and not by the police. However, police stood by the claim that the two gangsters were killed in an encounter with the law enforcers. Police also claimed to have recovered a Kalashnikov, a pistol and seven grenades from the dead gangsters.
According to police, a rocket was also fired at an armoured police car (APC) during the encounter.
However, no rocket launcher was claimed to have been recovered from the scene.
Police sources said Hasan Mohajir was a former worker of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement. He had left his Shah Faisal house some five years back to join the gangland, they added.
