Three injured in Baldia Town grenade attack

Four motorcycle-borne men attacked the house of a nephew of an MQM-London activist in Balida Town with a hand grenade, resulting in injuries to three persons.

Iqbal Mada alias Patni was sitting outside his house in Patni Mohalla of Baldia No. 3 when one of the suspects hurled a grenade at him and escaped while firing in the air.

Officials from police, Rangers and agencies reached the spot, as did bomb disposal squad staffers. Three injured persons -- Iqbal, Kamran Attari and a 15-year-old boy -- were taken to Patni Hospital for medical treatment.

Keamari SSP Faizan Ali also inspected the scene and said the armed suspects on two motorcycles asked for Iqbal Mada’s house and then threw a grenade in a black bag, leaving Iqbal and two other people injured. He said Iqbal had not received any threat.

Iqbal in his initial statement to the police said that because of his health condition after a stroke, he could not run to safety. He said he was sitting outside the house when four suspects appeared on two motorcycles.

The police said they had obtained CCTV footage in which the suspects can be seen wearing helmets and caps and fleeing while firing gunshots after the grenade attack.

After the blast, Bomb Disposal Squad officials inspected the scene and issued a report, which said the grenade used in the attack was RGD-1 Russian-made, and they found the lever and pieces of the device at the scene.

Due to the crowd, the safety pin of the grenade could not be found, but the ball bearing marks were found on the walls of houses. The doors of two houses were also damaged due to the explosion. A case has been reported and further investigations are underway.