The wave of violence intensified as the episode of Shershah carnage was replicated after almost two years Tuesday leaving elder brother of former MPA of Muttahida Qaumi Movement killed while another sibling wounded. Despite presence of police and rangers, two armed assailants barged into the godown of two brothers Qarar Ali, 60 and Zakir Ali, 42 at Shershah scrap market near Jehanabad police check post.
The culprits opened indiscriminate fir on both brothers, leaving them in a pool of blood, eye-witnesses said. After committing the crime, the culprits managed to flee in leaps and bounds while the injured persons were shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for treatment. Hospital sources said the victim Qarar arrived dead while Zakir was admitted to ASH in a critical condition.
Following the incident, tension heightened in Shershah and other adjoining areas where all commercial and social activities were suspended. Shopkeepers of Shershah scrap market also staged a protest demonstration against the killing. The protesters, who chanted slogans against LEAs and Lyari gangsters, demanded of the authorities to take responsible persons to task.
Police sources said the victims, who had been doing iron business for last 46 years, took over the charge after the death of their father. They said the deceased was the eldest among 10 siblings and the brother of former MQM MPA Shakir Ali, who was elected from PS-96 constituency, Burns Road in 2002.
Muhammad Zahid, President, Shershah Market Association condemned the said incident, saying that the government is showing indifference to shopkeepers' security. Such incidents are taking place on a daily basis, raising fear among the traders, he maintained. In response to the said incident, DIG East Naeem Akram Baroka suspended in-charge Jehanabad police check post and six other policemen and ordered inquiry against them.
West Zone SSP Amir Farooqui said that although the incident appeared to be targeted killing over the refusal to pay extortion, police were still unable to find evidence in this regard. The funeral prayers of deceased Qarar Ali were offered at Shadab Ground located at F B Area Block 11 and later he was buried in Mohammad Shah graveyard, North Karachi.
A bullet-riddled body of youth stuffed in a gunny bag was found near Kharadar Jamaat Khana in the limits of Baghdadi police station. The victim, who was later identified as Moosa Sanghar son of Mohammad Somoro Sanghar, a resident of Agra Taj Colony Lyari. The victim, who was an activist of Katchi Rabita Committee (KRC), went missing since Monday night. His body was recovered near Kharadar Jamaat Khana in the limits of Baghdadi police station.
Police said the victim's hands and legs were tied with ropes and he was hit by single bullet in his head. Police said unidentified men, who kidnapped him from unknown place, murdered him after subjecting him to severe torture and then threw his body at the said place. A case was registered against unidentified men on the complaint of state. Following the said killing, tension prevailed in many parts of Lyari including Agra Taj, Moosa Lane, Khadda Market and other areas where unidentified armed men resorted to firing that left a passer-by namely Amjad Baloch, 30 killed. The body was shifted to CHK for legal formalities. No case was registered till filing of this report.
Another young man was shot dead at Korangi area in the limits of Korangi police station. The incident took place at Korangi No 2 near a private dispensary, where 25-year-old Abdul Waheed son of Saleem was targeted by unidentified men while he was on way to home from somewhere. Resul-tantly, he died on the spot. The body was shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) for medico legal formalities. SHO Ateeq Hussain said the victim was the resident of Korangi No 1 and the motive behind his murder was yet to be ascertained. An FIR 151/12 was registered against unidentified men on the complaint of the victim's father.