Bloody brawl: Four die, as many injured in clash in Pak Colony

Police and Rangers arrest 80 suspects in grand operation in the troubled area

KARACHI: At least four people lost their lives and four others were wounded as Pak Colony turned into a battlefield when two rival groups of drug peddlers clashed on Saturday.

The police and Rangers launched a grand operation in the troubled neighbourhood, apprehended more than 80 suspects and destroyed over a dozen hideouts of the alleged gangsters-cum-narcotics dealers.

The trouble started when a member of the Sajid group linked with Lyari’s Baba Ladla group attacked the hideout of notorious narcotics dealer Agha Alam, who allegedly enjoys the support of Ladla's rival, Uzair Jan Baloch group, at Rexor Lane area of Pak Colony, an official told The Express Tribune. "They [Sajid's men] had tried to enter Alam's area, which caused a massive clash," explained Ishaq Baloch, a resident. "Both groups' members took position in their 'morchas' [pickets] and started firing on each other."



Before the police and Rangers arrived, four people had already been killed while four others were wounded. The bodies and the injured were later shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. The bodies were later shifted to the Edhi morgue for identification.

Police officials said that one of the deceased suspects, 20-year-old Zulfiqar, has been identified as a drug peddler. The police suspect that the other three deceased men, who have yet to be identified, were also drug peddlers. They were aged between 20 and 28 years. Meanwhile, the injured persons were identified as Mairaj, Shahid, Wasim and Naeem. They were also admitted to the hospital under police custody.

The police and Rangers launched a grand operation that lasted for at least two hours. They destroyed over one dozen hideouts. "The suspects apprehended belonged to both the gangs," said West district SSP Ghulam Azfar Mahesar. Their hideouts were also set on fire after demolition with the help of cranes.



A Rangers spokesperson said that the Rangers' operation will continue. He also urged the citizens to inform the Rangers on their helpline about such hideouts and criminal activities.

Gunned down

Separately, two men were shot dead in the outskirts of the city. The incident occurred in Bengali Para within the limits of the Quaidabad police station.

The deceased persons were identified as Bacha Rehman, 40, and Sanobar Khan, 45. The bodies were taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for autopsies. SHO Muhammad Ali Marwat said that Khan was involved in nearly one dozen cases of crime, including drug peddling, while the other victim used to run a snooker club. The officer said that at least two armed men riding a motorcycle shot and killed them. The motive behind the incident has yet to be ascertained.

Meanwhile, a young man was found dead from Altaf Nagar in Orangi Town within the limits of the Iqbal Market police station. Police officials said that unidentified persons, after kidnapping the victim, shot and killed him and later dumped his body. The body was shifted to the Edhi morgue for identification after medico-legal formalities were completed at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. A case has been registered and further investigations are underway.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 22^nd, 2015.