Two killed in firing on people coming back from Bilal’s burial

Bilal Khan was a victim of an angry mob that beat him to death under the false suspicions of him being a robber

KARACHI:

Two people were killed and another was critically injured on Tuesday when unidentified men opened fire on people returning from the burial of Bilal Muhammad Khan, 17, who was tortured to death by a mob in Qasba Colony area on Sunday.

Bilal and his two friends were brutally tortured by an angry mob in the Qasba Colony area of Peerabad police station on the night between Sunday and Monday.

Police rescued the three, but Bilal had died while two were rushed to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital in critical condition.

Tensions flared in the area after the incident until a heavy contingent of police reached the spot and brought the situation under control.

According to family sources, Sulieman Khan, 17, an apprentice tailor, had taken a day off from his workplace in Saddar to attend the funeral of his friend Bilal.

Suleiman was coming back from the graveyard in Qasba Colony when unidentified persons opened fire on the crowd killing him and a so far unidentified man aged around 60.

Peerabad police are making efforts to arrest the suspects.

Family and friends of Bilal staged a protest and demanded an impartial inquiry against the people behind the heinous act.

In this regard, Karachi Police Chief Javed Odho, while talking to The Express Tribune, said that the people had claimed that those tortured were robbers. However, this claim is being verified impartially.

Odho said that a three-member committee headed by DIG CIA had been formed to investigate the incident, including SSP Investigation West and SSP Central Maroof Usman.