KARACHI, June 25: Bullet-riddled and severely-tortured bodies of four young men were found in Pak Colony early on Saturday morning, and the victims were believed to be kidnapped before they were killed, police said.

They said almost an hour before sunrise the police were informed about the four bodies lying near Raxer Lane on Hasan Aulia Road in Pak Colony. The hands and legs of the victims were tied with ropes, and three of them were hit by multiple bullets fired at a close range.

“The bodies were shifted to the Civil Hospital for medico-legal formalities and then moved to the Edhi morgue,” said Sub-Inspector Shakil Sherwani, the SHO of the Pak Colony police station. “Two of the victims, however, were identified hours after the incident. Both are residents of the Orangi Town and employed as driver in a transport company serving the Karachi Electricity Supply Company.”

The identified victims –– Faizan and Barkat –– were in their late 20s and early 30s, respectively, and lived in Ghausia Baloch Colony in Sector 11 ½ of Orangi Town, he said, adding that Barkat died of severe torture while Faizan was hit by four bullets.

“We have gathered a few facts in initial investigations as their families said that both the identified victims left the homes on Friday for work.

However, their colleagues said they did not turn up to the workplace and despite repeated attempts their cellhpones were found switched off,” said the Pak Colony SHO.

He said the investigators believed that both victims were kidnapped on their way to work, tortured and shot dead before their bodies were left abandoned in Pak Colony.

“We have not found any criminal record of the victims, neither their families hinted at any personal enmity. We are now focusing more on tracing the family links of the two other victims which could help determine the motive for and people behind the incident,” he said.

The SHO said the police were trying to determine the identities of the two more victims before lodging an FIR.