KARACHI: Four more youngsters were killed in separate incidents in the Lyari area on Wednesday bringing the death toll to 10 in three days of violence in the strife-hit neighbourbood, police said.
Although guns fell silent by Tuesday evening following intense firing and armed clashes between two rival ethnic communities in Lyari, violence returned to the locality within hours and a teenage boy was shot dead in the early hours of Wednesday.
“The first incident was reported near the Slaughter House within the remit of the Kalri police station,” said Lyari Town SP Javed Baloch. “The victim was identified as 19-year-old Muhammad Adnan and apparently he fell victim to intense firing in the area.
He suffered a bullet wound in the chest. He was resident of the same area.” Later, a 28-year-old man was killed in similar fashion in Khadda Market.
Police said that victim Imran, an electrician by profession, sustained a fatal bullet wound in the abdomen near Malbari Hotel. He was a resident of Street 2 in the same area.
“Although the motive behind his killing is not yet clear, we believe he fell victim to the firing going on in the area for the last two days. He had nothing to do with any group,” said an official at the Baghdadi police station.
An area trader was also found shot dead in Khadda Market.
The police said 40-year-old Hamid Panwhar was hit by three bullets fired from a very close range. The body was found lying abandoned near Memon Society Anjuman Hall.
“The victim was the resident of the same area and had a toys shop,” said the Baghdadi police station official. “Initial findings suggest that he was kidnapped first and then murdered. The family denied he had any personal enmity, so the motive behind the killing could not be ascertained immediately.”
A few hours later, the body of a youngster stuffed in a gunny bag was found along Syed Mehmood Shah Road within the remit of the Napier police station.
“The body was found near Noorani Masjid. Clad in blue shalwar-kameez, the body bore severe torture marks, but there was no gunshot wound,” said a police official.
Fear and tension prevailed in parts of Lyari for the last couple of days. Though the police claimed that it had taken 'strong measures' to deal with criminals and maintain law and order in the area, peace remained elusive in the densely populated town.
“A police team that had gone to Daryaabad near Niazi Chowk to carry out a raid on a criminal's hideout came under attack today,” said the Lyari SP. “One of our mobile vans got damaged in the attack and the suspects managed to escape. However, we have seized arms and a couple of motorbikes from there.”
He said the law and order started deteriorating in the area after the killing of a senior member of the Kachchi Rabta Committee. However, he maintained that not all the incidents were related to ethnic rivalry.
“We are sure that all the killings are not inter-linked. Personal enmities and other matters could not be ruled out in such cases,” the SP said.
Dear visitor, the comments section is undergoing an overhaul and will return soon.