KARACHI: A woman was killed and her daughter-in-law and two others were injured when a grenade that looked like a toy exploded in her hand in a PECHS locality on Wednesday, officials said.

Fear and panic gripped the locality as the explosion took place at some distance from an Imambargah. However, the officials ruled out the possibility of any attempted attack on the Imambargah.

Ferozabad ASP Akhtar Farooq said that Nasrin Rabnawaz, 45, and her daughter-in-law, Azra Amir, 25, disembarked from a rickshaw on Khalid bin Waleed Road. Nasrin saw a toy-like object lying on the road and picked it up. Soon after the toy-like object exploded killing Nasrin and injuring Azra, the police officer said.

He said both women, resident of Lines Area, worked as domestic servants in the locality.

The police ruled out the possibility of any attack on the Imambargah but sounded clueless about the specific target.

“The Imambargah was around half a kilometre from the blast site and four roads have to be crossed to reach there,” said SSP-East Syed Pir Mohammed Shah.

Quoting two eyewitnesses, the SSP said one of them saw the ill-fated woman picking something from the road, while the other witness said she had a ball-like thing.

Dr Seemin Jamali of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre said the victims suffered multiple pellet injuries. The condition of Azra and passer-by Mohammad Khan, 35, was stable.

The Ferozabad police said another passer-by, Haider Ali, 50, also received minor injuries.

An official of the bomb disposal squad told Dawn that it was a hand grenade.

Meanwhile, the Shia Ulema Council demanded that the government bring out all details of the incident and expose the elements behind this act. Condemning what they called an attempt of attack near the Imambargah in PECHS, the council leaders demanded foolproof security arrangements for Chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain next week.