Shootout at gambling den

Stretch from under the PIDC bridge to City Railways Station notorious for gambling, trafficking

KARACHI:

A quarrel over cheating allegations at a gambling den started with fisticuffs and ended at rival groups pulling out pistols and opening fire at each other.

People of the crime-infested neighbourhood of City Railways Colony, though immune to anti-social activities going on under the nose of the police, had to call the cops as bullets flew in every direction.

A squad from the police helpline Madadgar 15 reached the spot and brought the situation under control, however, the alleged gamblers ran away, crossing the jurisdiction of City Railways Police Station to Mithadar Police Station avoiding immediate arrest.

Police sources quoting the area residents said firing started due to dispute over the value of prize money at the gambling den in the City Railways Colony on the night between Wednesday and Thursday, which spread panic and fear among the residents of the area.

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On being informed by the residents of the area, the Madadgar 15 police reached the spot. Hearing the sirens of the police mobiles, the suspects fled toward the City Railways Yard.

Mithadar Police said the suspects write numbers on chits at desolate spots of the sprawling yard meant for cleaning and maintenance of locomotives and the bogies which fall in their limits.

“Writing numbers on chits is not a crime, but then these suspects spend the night holding matka gambling on the numbered chits in the area which falls within the remits of the City Railway Police Station,” a Mithadar police official said. In matka gambling, the host has chits of numbers, the gamblers place wagers on the sequence of numbers one to 10, usually in sets of threes, he explained.

The stretch from below the PIDC bridge to City Railway Station has historically remained a hotbed for gambling, drugs, and human trafficking, he said.

Nudged between the jurisdictions of Artilary Maidan, City Railway, and Mithadar police stations, the crime-infested tracks run parallel to the Club Road and II Chundrigar Road, a stone-throw away from the financial hub of the city.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th, 2021.