Rice shop set ablaze as owner refuses to pay money in extortion

The owner of a rice shop in Jodia Bazaar, which was set on fire late on Sunday night, has claimed that his shop was set ablaze by gangsters of Lyari.

The rice shop was reduced to ashes after it was set ablaze late on Sunday night. The shop owner claimed that extortionists involved in the Lyari gang war were behind the incident who burnt his shop because he had refused to pay them extortion money.

Police have registered an FIR No 756/19 under the sections 327/34 and 336 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act against unidentified persons on behalf of the rice trader, Akbar Ali.

In the FIR, the complainant recorded his statement that his brother, Ahmed Ali, had received a phone call on his mobile phone around a month ago and the caller introduced himself as Sikandar, alias Sikku, who demanded Rs500,000 in extortion and threatened him with dire consequences in case did not pay the amount.

He also claimed that earlier on October 1, two men on a motorcycle had opened fire on his residence in Liaquatabad. Later, he approached the Liaquatabad police and registered a case against unidentified persons over the firing incident.

The rice trader added that after the firing, the extortionists again contacted him through WhatsApp and demanded Rs500,000 in extortion. He said the gang had been using different phone numbers, including international numbers, to contact him and he had provided those numbers to law enforcement agencies but they were yet to trace the extortionists.

He said separate cases had been lodged against unidentified extortionists over firing at his residence and setting fire to his shop in Jodia Bazaar. He appealed to higher authorities to provide him protection and arrest the extortionists.

House robbed

A group of armed men robbed a house in North Karachi on Monday. The incident happened within the limits of the Sir Syed police station. Police said three armed men broke into the house and held the family members hostage at gunpoint. The robbers stole cash, jewellery, mobile phones and other valuables from the house.

The family claimed that some of the gang members had stayed outside the house while their accomplices committed the robbery. The robbers managed to escape after stealing cash and valuables worth around Rs10 million.

Immediately after the robbers had escaped, the family informed police about the incident. Police reached the house to inquire into the robbery. Experts from the forensic division were also called to help police in investigations, who obtained fingerprints to trace the suspects. SP Altaf Hussain said police reached the house in a timely manner after the family members had informed them about the incident.