Suspect’s wife, two others held over Orangi firing incident

A day after two brothers were shot dead allegedly by their half-brother in the Pirabad area of Karachi, police officers investigating the case claimed to have made a major breakthrough by arresting three family members of the key suspect, Gul Khan, alias Raja, who has gone into hiding.

According to the Pirabad police station’s investigation wing incharge, Inspector Shabbir Hussain, police arrested the key suspect’s wife, Aliya Bibi, and a brother Liaquat Khan. Police also apprehended a woman, Farkhanda, the wife of Gul’s brother Shahi Rahman who has also holed up after the incident.

The suspect had reportedly opened fire on his stepmother and half-brothers during a clash on Saturday at their house located near the Pasthun Market in Orangi Town within the limits of the Pirabad police station. As a result of the firing, two half-brothers of the suspect were killed while two others and the step-mother were injured.

Responding to the information, a heavy contingent of law enforcers and rescue workers from various welfare organisations reached the house and transported the victims to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medical treatment where two brothers succumbed to their injuries and the other three injured with critical injuries received medical treatment.

The deceased brothers have been identified as 24-year-old Gul Muhammad, son of Matin Khan, and his elder brother as Saif Ali, 29. Their injured mother was identified as 64-year-old Dilshad. The other two injured brothers are Shaukat, 28, and Taj, 22.

Quoting the initial investigations, police said they reached the house after receiving the information about five people being wounded after a firing incident there. They added that the victims were taken to a hospital where two of the brothers breathed their last and others remained admitted to the health facility.

According to police, Raja had opened fire on his step-mother and half-brothers over a dispute on water at the house. Police said the suspect had managed to escape after the crime. There had also been a property dispute between the half-brothers for several years, police said, adding that they had also found that the suspect had a criminal record.

Police said a 9mm pistol was used in the incident and they had seized as many as 10 empty shells of the weapon from the crime scene. They added that the suspect’s father had married twice. All the four brothers who were killed or injured in the incident had the same mother.