KARACHI: Children and women were among the 17 people hurt in a grenade attack allegedly carried out by gangsters in the Napier area of Lyari on Tuesday evening, police said.

The attack might be a revenge exacted by gangsters for a recent demonstration of area residents against Uzair Baloch, a leader of a gang in Lyari, who was detained in the UAE by Interpol in December last year, Napier SHO Azam Khan said. Among the injured were members of the Hindu community.

Two suspects riding a motorbike threw a hand grenade on the main road near Salar Compound leaving passers-by and teenagers playing football and snooker injured.

The officer added that it was believed that the attack was carried out by gangsters. The SHO pointed out that a few days ago residents of Salar Compound staged a rally outside the Karachi Press Club in which they demanded that Uzair Baloch be brought to justice in Karachi.

However, the SHO said that the grenade attack took place at some distance from Salar Compound. They were probing the exact target of the attackers.

The injured people were taken to the Civil Hospital Karachi. None of them were said to have suffered life-threatening injuries, said senior medico-legal officer Dr Nisar Shah.

The injured have been identified as 60-year-old Rehmat Ali, 45-year-old Mahmood Waheed, 14-year-old Usama Zahid, 15-year-old Aqib Javed, 15-year-old Umar Farooq, 40-year-old Morai Bai, 10-year-old Manish Kishan, 10-year-old Siddat Lachman, 14-year-old Bilal Javed, 14-year-old Meer Bojraj, 13-year-old Araish Dewraj, nine-year-old Kapil Ashok, nine-year-old Wishal Ponja, 14-year-old Shahmir Khalid and 60-year-old Kishan Kara.

Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2015

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