KARACHI: A Chinese national who had recently arrived here was shot at and wounded in a moving car by gunmen riding a motorbike in the SITE area on Wednesday where he was supposed to repair imported machinery, officials said.

Another Chinese man and a local driver remained unhurt in the incident.

Late in the evening Counter-Terrorism Department’s senior official Raja Umar Khattab said that the banned Balochistan Liberation Front’s spokesperson ‘Major’ Gohram through social media has claimed responsibility for the armed attack.

The foreigners were without security guards as they were not associated with any government project.

SITE-B SHO Zawwar Husain said that the two Chinese men with the local driver were on their way from Defence to the SITE area in a car. When they reached near Gulbai, the armed pillion rider wearing face mask opened fire on the vehicle and fled. The foreigner, identified as Yuan Chang Feng, sitting in the back seat, suffered four bullet wounds on different parts of his body while his other colleague, who was sitting next to the driver, remained safe.

Six-year-old girl brutally raped, murdered in Korangi

The wounded foreigner was taken to Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital for treatment where his condition was stated to be out of danger.

The officer said that the wounded man was an engineer. A factory in SITE had purchased some machinery from China and the wounded man was associated with the firm. He came from China on July 5. He was on his way from Defence to SITE’s industrial unit to fix the machinery there when he came under attack. The officer said that it appeared to be a targeted incident.

Meanwhile, DIG-South Javed Akbar Riaz, who visited the crime scene, told the media that the two Chinese nationals were not associated with any official project.

They did not inform the police about their movement. The driver in his initial statement told the police that he did not hear the sound of firing. He indicated that a silencer-fitted pistol might have been used. There was a rush of traffic when the incident took place and the exact place of the firing was also being ascertained. Mr Riaz said the condition of the injured Chinese man was not serious as he suffered bullet wounds in the hands and face.

“An investigation has been launched to ascertain the possible reasons of the attack,” said the DIG. He added that no spent bullet casings were found at the crime scene.

Six-year-old girl raped, murdered

A six-year-old missing girl was found raped and murdered in Korangi’s Zaman Town area on Wednesday, officials said.

The girl’s body was found on a garbage dump near her home after a search of almost eight hours. The police carried out actions in different localities and detained around a dozen men for questioning.

Landhi SP Shahnawaz Chachar said the girl had gone missing from her home in the Ghous Pak area of Korangi at around 9pm on Tuesday.

The parents reported the incident to the police at around 12 midnight. Her body was found on the garbage at around 5am on Wednesday with her neck broken.

The body was taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre to fulfil legal formalities.

“Her autopsy showed that she had been raped, sodomised and then murdered,” said additional police surgeon of the JPMC Dr Summaiya Syed.

There were “multiple injuries to the head, body and private parts,” added Dr Syed. “Swabs have been collected for semen serology and DNA profiling and cross matching.”

The doctor said that her clothes were sealed and visceral samples collected.

SP Chachar said the police carried out actions in various localities and detained 10-12 persons for interrogation. He said the detained persons were known as “bad characters” in the area. The police also searched places like playgrounds and closed schools to find possible evidence. Besides, police forensic teams also visited the crime scene and collected evidence. Moreover, geofencing of the area was also being carried out to find clues to the suspects. The senior officer said that there was no CCTV footage but the investigators had got clues that the suspects who threw her body on the garbage were travelling in a rickshaw.

The grief-stricken father told the media that his daughter was playing outside the home with other children as electricity in the locality had gone.

The father accused the police of lack of cooperation. He said that when he visited the police station on Tuesday night for lodging the case, the policemen did not take it seriously.

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2021