KARACHI, March 30: A suspected gangster was killed and a Rangers man wounded in an encounter in the Lyari area on Saturday, officials said.

A Rangers spokesman said that the paramilitary force was carrying out raids in Lyari when ‘criminals’ opened fire and wounded one of the personnel.

“Rangers returned fire wounding two assailants: one of them died during treatment. He has been identified as notorious gang war criminal Aqeel Commando,” he added.

He claimed that Aqeel Commando was involved in a number of cases, including a rocket attack on a police mobile van.

He said that the Rangers rounded up eight suspects, including two high-profile offenders.

“Eight weapons of different calibres were also seized that included a sub-machine gun, an M-16 rifle and a hand-grenade as well as a huge quantity of ammunition.”

The killing, however, sparked a violent protest in the area when the body was handed over to the family.

A large number of area people gathered at Lyari’s Aath Chowk and staged a protest demonstration against the Rangers. They lit bonfires and blocked the road for vehicular traffic.

While the whole area reverberated with gunfire, business activities came to a complete halt in Kharadar and Kaghzi Bazaar, where traders pulled down shutters.

Backing the Rangers’ claim, police said that Aqeel Commando was wanted in a number of cases mainly registered with the Baghdadi and Kalakot police stations.

They said that they were also part of the Rangers raids that continued for more than two hours.

“The gangster killed in the encounter was a close aide of Rashid Rekha, another ringleader of a criminal gang killed last month in an encounter with the Rangers,” said Lyari SP Najam Tareen. “After Rashid Rekha’s death, he was taking care of the gang’s affairs, which operated in Saifee Lane and Shah Baig Lane and was involved in drugs, arms supply and extortion rackets.”

Trader shot dead

A young trader was gunned down outside his shop in an Orangi Town locality on Saturday, police said.

They said that gunmen riding a motorbike fired shots at 23-year-old Imran Abbasi when he was about to open his general store in Orangi Town’s Sector 11 ½ and rode away.

Pakistan Bazaar SHO Inspector Ahmed Butt said that the victim sustained two bullet wounds and died on the spot. He lived just across the road where his shop was located.

He said that the victim was not associated with any political or religious group.

However, his family remained tight-lipped regarding any enmity between the victim and any individual or group. “The family took away the body without a post-mortem examination and we are waiting for their response before lodging an FIR” the area SHO added.

Watchman killed

A man was gunned down in the Sachal area along the Superhighway on Saturday.

An official at the Sachal police station said that assailants riding a motorbike opened fire on 50-year-old Seema Khan, a watchman of an area market, when he was sitting near the Al-Raza Clinic.

“He was hit by three bullets and died on the spot,” said the official. “He was a resident of Sikandar Goth and father of three.”

The victim originally hailed from the tribal areas and it appeared that he was killed due to some personal issues, the official added.