Malir violence: 40 arrested, zero cases registered in the city

Though the killings have stopped the police is still trying to catch the real culprits.

KARACHI:

Though at least six people died across Karachi on Saturday, matters settled down in Malir district. The police and Rangers detained 40 suspects during search operations conducted in the district to probe the violence that claimed at least 13 lives and left over two dozen wounded.

The residents were still wary of a sudden turn for the worse and parts of Malir and its surrounding areas such as Landhi, Ammar Yasir Society, Quaidabad, Sherpao Colony and Saudabad remained tense. However, a heavy contingent of law enforcers was deployed in the area and luckily, no major incident occurred. Shots were fired into the air from time to time and commercial activities could not be completely restored in the troubled areas.

Officials told The Express Tribune that the suspects were taken into custody during an overnight search operation conducted in parts of Malir and weapons were seized from some of them. They have been taken to an undisclosed place for further investigation. However, SP Zahid Hussain Shah neither denied nor confirmed the reports.

The SP said that a grand operation is being arranged to arrest the real suspects behind the killings. Right now he is waiting for the directions from IG Sindh Wajid Ali Durrani. He said that the overall situation was much better as the law enforcers have increased snap checking and patrolling.

On the other hand, sources say that not a single case has been registered for the Friday violence and that the police are stalling. SP Hussain dismissed these accusations claiming that the police are waiting for the victims’ families to file cases as they are currently busy burying their dead.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 24^th, 2011.