An eight-year-old boy was allegedly shot dead by a security guard outside a pizza shop in Clifton on Sunday, according to a police spokesperson. The incident took place outside a restaurant near Bilawal Chowrangi, and the deceased has been identified as Muhammad Umar son of Muhammad Khadim.
Umar lived in Haji Rustam Building, located near Shahjee Chowk, in Shireen Jinnah Colony, the spokesperson said. His body was found in a garbage dump behind Ziauddin Hospital in the limits of Jackson police station.
According to preliminary investigations, Umar was begging outside a restaurant, but the security guard tried to shoo him away, the spokesperson said. When Umar did not listen, the guard shot him twice, injuring him critically. The guard, along with a colleague, rushed him to Ziauddin Hospital on a motorcycle.
However, Umar succumbed to his injuries on the way. The guards threw the body on a garbage dump near the hospital and escaped.
Muhammad Khadim, father of the deceased, told The Express Tribune that he belonged to Bugti tribe and hailed from Balochistan. The family first migrated to Sukkur in search of better economic opportunities before shifting to Karachi about four years ago.
Khadim, who has six sons, is a rickshaw driver. He denied Umar ever begged. "One of my sons works at a burger shop in front of a restaurant and another at a pizza shop," he said. "Umar would often visit his brothers at their workplaces and play there," he added.
When informed by his son, Khadim rushed to scene but found nothing, nor did anyone tell him what had happened. "I went to the residence of Zamran Bugti, younger brother of Nawab Mir Ali, the chief of Bugti tribe and grandson of the late Nawab Akbar Bugti," he said. "He took me and my wife and our children in his car to Jackson police station, where Umar's body was found," he added.
Later, the body was shifted to the Civil Hospital.
Zamran Bugti appealed to the Army Chief, Chief Justice of Pakistan, Sindh Government, and IG Sindh to provide justice to Muhammad Khadim.
The Boat Basin police registered a case of murder in which the family has nominated Muhammad Jan, son of Daulat Khan, as the accused, and launched a manhunt for him. Jan, who worked for a private security company, was posted at the pizza shop. The accused belongs to Jamrud tehsil of Khyber district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Administrator Karachi Metropolitan Corporation Murtaza Wahab on Sunday expressed condolence with the family of the deceased child and said justice would be served to the family.
Wahab has sought a report from the police authorities and early arrest of the accused.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 14th, 2022
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