Lyari gang warfare: Five gangsters found dead in Karachi

Tensions high, police rule out involvement of rival groups.

KARACHI:

Fear stalked the neighbourhood of Karachi’s Old Golimar on Friday after the bodies of five alleged gangsters were found from the site of an under construction building within the limits of Pak Colony police station.

Police officials ruled out the involvement of rival gangs – Ghaffar Zikri and Baba Ladla – in the killings. “We believe that the gangsters were killed by their own companions,” a police official said.

Explaining the reason, SHO Bilal Raza said: “No one (from the rival group) has the courage to intrude on Uzair Baloch’s stronghold to carry out these killings.”

According to initial investigation by the police, the slain gangsters were tortured and received multiple gunshots. However, there was no weapon found at the crime scene.

“We have found an empty shell of the bullet, few bottles of liquor and some food from the crime scene,” SHO Raza added.

The five men, reportedly affiliated with Lyari’s Uzair Baloch group were identified as Shahzad Ali Baloch, Rizwan Abdul Razzak, Sajid Dad Maher, Gulzar Mansoor and Amir Kareem Bakhsh.



Following preliminary investigation, the bodies of the victims were moved to the Civil Hospital for autopsy and later handed over to their families for burial.

SSP Irfan Baloch, while talking to The Express Tribune said that two of the deceased persons, Shahzad Baloch and Sajid were also wanted in a number of cases including murder, attempt to murder and police encounters.

The officer further added that their companions after killing them took the weapons away while fleeing.

Tension prevailed in Pak Colony, Old Golimar and Lyari neighbourhoods following the incident where armed men resorted to indiscriminate firing, suspending routine and commercial activities in the area.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 28^th, 2013.