KARACHI, June 21: Over half a dozen persons, including a Muttahida Qaumi Movement worker and a CID police official, were killed on Thursday mainly in the western parts of the city, said police.

They added that the CID official had played an active role in the arrest of suspected assassins involved in political and ethnic killings. Police constable Mohammad Khan, 40, was returning home on his motorbike after night shift when he was attacked close to his home in Kunwari Colony, said an official at the Manghopir police station.

The official added that Mr Khan was intercepted by two men riding a motorbike near Al-Saif Marble Shop. One of them fired shots at him and fled with his accomplice, leaving the victim dead on the spot.

He said the body was later shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medico-legal formalities.

The police investigators, meanwhile, collected several spent bullet casings of 9mm pistol from the crime scene.

Associated with the CID police for the past six years, Mr Khan had been instrumental in several operations that led to the arrest of suspected militants and assassins who had targeted people on political and ethnic grounds, according to the police investigators.

“We don’t see any other reason behind his killing,” said SP Fayyaz Khan of the CID.

“We have conducted raids and rounded up more than half a dozen suspects. The pace of our investigation indicates that we will soon trace and arrest the killers,” he hoped.

Only a few hours earlier, a Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) worker was gunned down in the parking lot of his apartment building, said the police. They added that gunmen riding a motorbike targeted 35-year-old Asif aka Buddha at the Noman View Apartments situated near Jauhar Morr in Gulistan-i-Jauhar.

Quoting eyewitnesses, an official at the Sharea Faisal police station said: “Two men on a motorbike entered the apartment building and found Asif in the parking lot. They fired at him and sped away.”

The incident spread fear and tension in the area before the body was moved to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) for medico-legal formalities.

The police confirmed to Dawn that the victim was associated with the MQM, but were unable to tell about the killers or a motive for the murder.

Strangled to death A gunny bag containing the body of a young man was spotted in Liaquatabad, said police who felt certain that the victim had been kidnapped before being tortured and strangled to death.

“The body was found at an isolated area near the Liaquatabad No 10 overhead bridge,” said DSP Wajahat Hussain, the area’s sub-divisional police officer.

“The victim had been trussed up with rope and there were several torture marks on the body. But we couldn’t find any clue to his identity.” The body was moved to the Edhi morgue after medico-legal formalities at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for want of identification, added the DSP.

Man found shot dead A man was found shot dead in Qasba Colony, said the police.

They added the victim had been shot thrice from a close range.

“The body was found by a side of the road in Qasba Colony Sector 2 ½,” said an official at the Pirabad police station.

He said the police were making efforts to trace family of the victim.

Two killed in Orangi A resident of Lea Market and a resident of Landhi were shot dead in separate acts of firing during their visit to Orangi Town, said police.

The officials added that Syed Ali Shah, 24, had come from Landhi to meet his relatives in Orangi. On his way back, he was gunned down dead near Kala Maidan in a drive-by shooting in the early hours of the day, said Orangi Town SHO Inspector Naeem Shah.

“We don’t think that it was a mugging attempt because the killers did not deprive him of any valuables. In fact the two attackers riding a motorbike did not stop for anything.”

He said the police were questioning his relatives and also contacted his family to connect the dots before arriving at a conclusion.

After a few hours, a young man was shot dead within the remit of the same police station.

Kamran Baloch, 35, was going to see his paternal uncle in Sector 7-C of Orangi Town when he was shot dead at Qatar Morr.

“The victim was a watchman in the Lea Market area,” said an official.

The police later registered an FIR (136/2012) under Sections 302 (premeditated murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code against unidentified persons on a complaint of the victim’s father.

Trader killed A trader, who was chairman of the Liaquatabad No 10 furniture market association, was sprayed with bullets in Sharifabad in a drive-by shooting, said police.

They suspected that the killing might be the result of a land dispute but said it was too early to arrive at a conclusion.

Ali Hasan Jafri, 52, was shot dead while he was walking home after regular business at his furniture shop, said DSP Wajahat Hussain, the area’s sub-divisional police officer.

The victim sustained gunshot wounds to his chest, shoulder and head and died on the spot, said the officer.

“The attackers were seen speeding away on a 125cc motorbike after executing the job,” he said, adding that the police investigators later collected spent bullet casings of a 9mm pistol.

He said he was not sure about the motive for the murder as there could be multiple causes. “There was a serious dispute of land between the victim and another party. The family also has serious doubts over the same issue,” added the officer.