KARACHI, May 26: A worker of a roadside restaurant was killed and over a dozen people were injured when unidentified motorcyclists threw a hand-grenade at the restaurant on Jamshed Road within the remit of the Jamshed Quarters police station in the small hours of Saturday, police said.

“The injured were shifted to the Civil Hospital and Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre,” said Inspector Khushnood Javed, the SHO of the Jamshed Quarters police station. “One of the injured, however, died early in the morning. He was identified as Muhammad Saleem, a 55-year-old restaurant worker.”

The police said the attackers targeted a commercial area where roadside restaurants and eateries remained open till late in the night. The police suspected that a known fish shop was the actual target and did not rule out extortion as a reason behind the attack.

“The owner of the shop is not cooperating with investigators and has denied sharing anything,” said DSP Qaiser Ali Shah, the area’s sub-divisional police officer. “We have, however, gathered facts on our own that suggest that there was an extortion demand to the shop owner by one of the groups and they also reached a deal over the amount. In the meantime, there was some disagreement that led to the attack.”

The police, meanwhile, registered a case (FIR 251/2012) under Sections 302 (premeditated murder), 324 (attempted murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code against unknown persons on behalf of the state. Sections 3/4 of the Explosive Substance Act and 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 were also incorporated in the FIR.