KARACHI: Bloodshed persists without letup in Karachi as a total of nine lives were snuffed out in the very beginning of the holy month of Ramazan, Geo News reported.
According to sources, the most recent was the discovery of two dead bodies stuffed in gunnysacks near the Sher Shah Bridge in SITE area.
Earlier, in a glaring example of how extortionists are brazenly wrecking havoc in the city, five people were killed and several others including an SHO injured by a criminal group in Sohrab Goth on Saturday.
DIG Shahid Hayat Khan of the East Range said some members of the Jannat Gul group arrived at the meat market located behind Al-Asif Square in Sohrab Goth and tried to extort money from the shopkeepers there. However, the shopkeepers refused and tried to overpower the extortionists, but the latter managed to escape.
They later returned to the market carrying weapons including Kalashnikovs and opened fire on the shopkeepers. Several people were injured and moved to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. Four of the injured, Shah Faisal Khan, Mirza Khan, Ghulam Rasool and Zahir Khan, all of them shopkeepers, succumbed to their injuries.
Those in a critical condition included Ikramuddin, Abdul Basheer, Abdul Khalique and Salaat Khan
The DIG said he ordered a crackdown in the area, after which police entered the area and after an encounter, arrested two suspects and took them to the Sohrab Goth police station.
Kalashnikovs and pistols were recovered from the arrested men’s possession. After the police left the area, the Jannat Gul group attacked the shopkeepers again. Sohrab Goth SHO Sultan Mehsud, who was patrolling the area, went there along with his team and SP Gadap Jan Mohammad.
The group members opened fire on the police team, and the latter retaliated. During the crossfire, the Sohrab Goth SHO and ASI Ehsan Marwat were injured and taken to a hospital. The vehicle of SP Gadap was also damaged.
The DIG said more policemen were sent to the troubled area and seven members of the Gul group, including wanted criminals Asfand Yar Khan and Shah Mohammad, were arrested. Kalashnikovs, repeaters and TT and 9mm pistols were recovered from their possession. The DIG said the arrested men were wanted by the police in target killing and extortion cases.
Moreover, the owner of a general store was in murdered Landhi No-5 on Saturday.
Police said 32-year-old Shakeel Ahmed, a resident of Landhi-36B, was on his way home in the wee hours of the day when two men on a motorcycle opened fire on him.
The victim was taken to the JPMC, where he expired. The deceased suffered a single bullet wound on his chest. The police recovered 30-bore pistol bullet shells at the murder scene. Investigators said Ahmed was a supporter of a political party.
In addition to that a real estate agent was also gunned down in Dubai Chowk, Gulistan-e-Jauhar.
Sub-Divisional Police Officer Altaf Hussain of the Gulshan Division said Yaqoob Solangi was present outside his house, when two men on a motorcycle sprayed him with bullets.
The victim was taken to the JPMC, where he breathed his last.
The deceased suffered multiple bullet wounds on his upper torso. The police found empty bullet shells of 30-bore pistol at the crime scene.
The police officer added that the deceased hailed from Sanghar. Police sleuths said the murder could be linked to a land dispute.