Lyari Gang War

3 killed in Lyari gang war

* Ali Muhammad Mohalla and Shah Baig Lane become virtual battlefield

 

By Jamil Khan | KARACHI

 

THE new wave of violence between two gangs in Lyari, Ghaffar Zikri and Jhango, claimed three lives on Thursday.

The police and Rangers have still not apprehended a single culprit even after there was heavy firing throughout the day. The police have nominated 16 people from both groups, who have been responsible for violence, particularly in Shah Baig Lane, Ali Muhammad Muhalla and Eidu Lane, within the jurisdiction of Baghdadi Police Station.

The situation got out of hand early morning on Thursday, when the body of Faqir Muhammad, a right-hand man of Ghaffar Zikri, who was kidnapped late on Wednesday night. Faqir was a rickshaw driver and was kidnapped, killed and his body was thrown within the jurisdiction of the Eidgah Police Station.

This incident was the spark for the violence and, by noon, Ali Muhammad Mohalla and Shah Baig Lane became a virtual battlefield, as members of both gangs used heavy weapons without any fear of law enforcement agencies. Even though the scene was not new for residents of the vicinity, they were not able to get out of their houses and daily activities came to a halt.

Police mobile units arrived at the scene to disperse the two gangs. The exchange of fire between the police and the gangsters took the life of a pedestrian identified as Ameen. The situation was further aggravated and the police summoned the Pakistan Rangers, even though, all the personnel from the four police stations located in the Lyari jurisdiction were at the scene.

In the evening, a stray bullet killed an unidentified commuter sitting in a bus. Faqir was buried at the Mewashah Graveyard and the funeral was attended by a large number of people from different parts of Lyari, even though, the situation was really tense. Baghdadi SHO Asif Munawar told Daily Times that the police did not nominate culprits from either of the two gangs and started the dispersal randomly. The gangsters involved from the Ghaffar Zikri gang were Syed Nasir Raza, Shahab, Sohail, Fakhar Zaman, Akhter Akko and Shahzad while Nasir Siyyah Pat, Nisar Ashraf, Mushtaq Dhari, Jassim Golden and Jameel were involved from the Jhango group. “Police officials started the operation to rid the area of the terror instilled by the two gangs and the operation will continue till the situation normalizes,” said Munawar.

Bandit killed in Kalakot: Kalakot Police, after a brief encounter, shot dead a bandit on early Thursday morning, while two of his accomplices managed to escape.

SHO Kalakot Abdul Sattar Abro told Daily Times that two of the bandits were in a pick-up truck, while the third was on a motorcycle. The three looted a peanut vendor, Sheraz Niazi, who was packing up his peanut stall, at around 3:00 am on Sheedi Village Road but as they were escaping, a patrolling police van arrived on the scene.

The bandit riding a motorcycle managed to escape into the narrow lanes but the police chased the pick up, which smashed in to a footpath. In the exchange of fire, one of the bandits, Saleh Muhammad, was killed, while the other managed to escape. The police recovered Rs 5,000 and a TT pistol.

3 people killed in separate incidents: Two unidentified men killed Shazia, 37, a mother of six children on Thursday. The murder occurred in Gulshan-e-Mazdoor located in Saeedabad Police Station limits.

According to details, two men came to Nasir’s house, knocked on the door and Nasir’s wife Shazia opened it. The men fired at her, as a result of which, she died on the spot.

The police related this incident to a fight that Nasir had with two unidentified men a couple of days ago. One robber and a pedestrian were killed in Majeed Colony, within the jurisdiction of Quaidabad Police Station, during a robbery attempt. The police officials said that three bandits looted a house, No A-64, and attempted to escape. However, people of the area had gathered outside the house upon hearing screams. They managed to catch the robbers and thrashed them. The bandits opened fire and killed Raju, 19. The mob killed one dacoit and handed another to the police while the third one fled.

– Published in Daily Times | Dec 5, 2008