Child killed, woman injured as fireworks explode

Incident occurred at the house of a man allegedly involved in the illegal fireworks business

HYDERABAD: A child was killed on Monday and a woman injured when fireworks placed in a residential unit in the Islamabad area in Hyderabad caught fire that engulfed the place.

The incident took place at the house of Saleem Raza Arain who allegedly deals in the illegal business of selling fireworks. The explosion damaged a wall in the house and some debris also fell on the road but no passerby was injured.

It is the second incident taking place at a building related to Saleem. In December 2017, an explosion at Saleem's warehouse in Tando Mir Mehmood killed an infant of a tenant and donkey cart rider living in adjacent houses and injured around half a dozen others. Three neighbouring houses were damaged in the explosion.

After the incident in Tando Mir Mehmood, Saleem and his brother Naeem Arain were booked in an FIR at the Phuleli police station and were also arrested but they subsequently obtained bail from a court. The police have yet to register an FIR of Monday's incident.

Saleem has reportedly gone into hiding after the incident. The deceased child, Ayan, was Naeem's five-year-old son. The injured woman Nasreen is the 35-year-old wife of Saleem who received critical burn injuries and was referred to a Karachi hospital by Liaquat University Hospital.



Islamabad is a densely populated locality in the downtown of Hyderabad. According to police sources, residents living near Saleem's house had time and again complained against him and his illegal business to the police. It has also been reported that his connections with some political figures helped him continue his work.

Many among hundreds of people who crammed the street outside the residence alleged that the suspect had been operating in connivance with the police. The city's SP, Zahida Parveen, could not be contacted for her comments.

 

Six cops injured

A mobile van of Hyderabad police's anti-terrorist squad met an accident in Mirpurkhas district on Monday, leaving six policemen injured. The squad was travelling to Naukot to conduct a raid. The injured cops were initially shifted to a local hospital from where they were referred to Liaquat University Hospital Hyderabad.