Two cops martyred in grenade blast at Garden police HQ

Two policemen lost their lives and two others, including a sub-inspector, were injured when a grenade exploded near the Sindh police’s Kooth Khana (weaponry depot) at the police headquarters in the Garden neighbourhood on Wednesday.

According to the investigators, multiple inquiries have been initiated that will, among other things, also ascertain when and why the grenade was shifted to the HQ and submitted to the depot.

Station House Officer Tasneem Iqbal of the Nabi Bakhsh police station said information was received by the police station at around 11:15am that a blast had occurred near the weaponry depot at the police HQ.

She said that responding to the information, police mobiles and rescue teams with the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) rushed to the spot and immediately took the victims to the hospital as well as cordoned off the site of the incident.

She added that police constables Muhammad Shahzad and Muhammad Sabir had lost their lives in the blast, while SI Saeed (the depot’s incharge) and constable Ali Gauhar had been injured, and were under treatment at the Dr Ruth KM Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi.

After the explosion at the police HQ, senior officials of the Sindh police, including the DIG of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and the DIG of the South Zone, also reached the site of the incident and gathered details from the staff present there.

Officials said that after the recent monsoon showers, the depot’s officials were asked to inspect the weaponry there, so during the process, the officials took some hand grenades from the depot and were, according to initial investigations, checking them at a cobbler’s shop within the police HQ.

They said constable Sabir, who was also a cobbler of the Sindh police, was present there when an explosion suddenly occurred, which, according to the BDS, could have happened as a result of someone trying to unpin the grenade, but the officials said that it was too early to confirm. They added that the injured officials, including SI Saeed who is the incharge of the Kooth Khana and is in a critical state, are not in any condition to give a statement.

The South Zone DIG and SSP remained present at the police headquarters until the completion of the investigation. According to the senior officers, the bomb blast took place during the weapon’s cleaning. After taking notice of the explosion, Karachi police chief Javed Alam Odho ordered an immediate inquiry. He said the Crime Scene Unit also reached the site to collect evidence, adding that the incident is being investigated and efforts are being made to find out whose negligence caused this accident.

As soon as the information about the explosion was received, South DIG Sharjeel Kharal, CTD DIG Asif Ijaz Sheikh and City SSP Dr Imran reached the site to inspect it.

DIG Kharal told the media that it is a sad incident. He said that after the recent rains, an inspection of the inventory was being carried out at the Kooth Khana as part of routine practice.

He added that explosives are defused, and the grenade was being taken to be defused when it exploded, so the incident appears to be accidental, but two investigation teams are conducting inquiries.

He also said that all units are made to follow the SOP, adding that a case has been filed after the incident was reported, so a full inquiry will be conducted into the incident.

Investigators said that it is too early to confirm what exactly happened, adding that they are still waiting for the statements of the injured officials. They said the grenade was Russian-made and not a property in any case, adding that they are also checking the records of the victims, as well as trying to find out when and why this grenade and others

were shifted to the HQ and submitted to the depot.

Funeral prayers

The funeral prayers of 45-year-old Sabir Hussain and 40-year-old Muhammad Shahzad were offered at the police HQ, and were attended by Sindh minister Saeed Ghani, provincial police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon, the city police chief, DIGs of the South and West zones, the city traffic police’s district SSPs, Rangers’ officers, senior police officers, and families and friends of the deceased.

After the funeral prayers, a police team laid floral wreaths on the coffins of the deceased policemen. The Sindh police chief offered his condolences to the bereaved families, and assured them of all possible cooperation from the Sindh police. Constable Shahzad was a resident of Mehmoodabad and was married, while constable Sabir was a resident of Gulshan-e-Ghazi and is survived by a wife and three children.