Mosque caretaker shot dead in Karachi

KARACHI: The caretaker of a mosque was killed in a late-night gun attack in Gulistan-e-Jauhar on Tuesday. The Sharea Faisal police said Ziaur Rehman, 45, the Mohtamim of Jamia Masjid Abu Bakar, had returned from the mosque and was walking inside a park near his residence close to the FBR Office in Block-14 when two men riding on a motorcycle shot and injured him before fleeing.

The victim was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. He suffered multiple bullet wounds to his torso.

SSP Irfan Ali Bahadur, chief of the District East police, said investigators had collected seven empties of a 9mm pistol and three empties of a 30 bore pistol. He said the empties would be sent to the forensic division of Sindh police for examination.

He added that the murder seemed a targeted killing; however, other aspects, including enmity, would also be looked into. He said the police were also checking for the availability of CCTV cameras in the area that could help them in arresting the culprits.

According to the Karachi police spokesman, Karachi police chief Khadim Hussain Rind said the incident was an act of terrorism and it aimed to disrupt the law and order in the city ahead of Rabiul Awwal. He directed the DIG East to conduct an inquiry and submit a report. He also ordered the immediate arrest of the culprits. Rind said that the CTD had collected importance pieces of evidence from the scene, and the initial investigation showed that the secret agency of a neibhouring country, RAW, could be involved in the incident.