HYDERABAD: An activist of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Syed Hassan Mujtaba Zaidi was gunned down in a targeted shooting by gunmen outside deputy commissioner house within the jurisdiction of Cantonment police station Wednesday night, police and family said.

Zaidi, who was popularly known as Kaka, received two bullet injuries around his temporal regional and cheek. Police said that number of gunmen remained unspecified, who targeted him while he was on his way along with three children including two girls and nephew.

Reports said that Zaidi, who was in his mid 40s, was believed to be on his motorcycle returning home along with his children – Hareem Zahra, Naqi Zaidi 2, Wajiha Zahra – when he was targeted outside DC house. The children also received bruises after they fell from the motorbike.

According to chief medical officer Dr Azam, he was received dead in the hospital. He said that there were marks of two bullet injuries around his cheek and temporal region that left side eye of deceased smashed and exit wound was clearly visible there.

Charged MQM activists, MNA Syed Wasim Hussain, MPAs Dilawar Qureshi and Zubair Ahmed Khan and family members rushed to Liaquat University Hospital (LUH) and took away the body without post-mortem being conducted. His brother declined to get it done.

Zaidi was an employee of Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) and has been associated with MQM ever-since its creation. He was close associate of Aslam alias Alam, another MQM activist who was killed on May 7 last year along with Azam Qureshi at Liberty chowk.

Kaka’s targeted killing is also being seen in sectarian connection. He was an active member of Anjuman Hyderi, a local Shia organisation.

According to Raza Irani, Anjuman-e-Hyderi general secretary, Kaka was nazim-e-aala of Anjuman-e-Hyderi’s volunteers. The Anjuman holds permit of 10th Muharram central procession of azadari in Hyderabad. He was resident of Tilak in-cline Hyderabad.

Tension gripped the city after news of his murder spread. The road leading to his house remained closed for traffic and shops were immediately shuttered by traders in the busiest area of the city.

Cantonment police recovered two empties of 9mm pistol used in the assassination. Eye witnesses told police that the gunmen did not say anything to the children and did not snatch Zaidi’s CG-125 motorcycle.

Regular snap checking at the very spot by police’s fighter squad was discontinued in the last few days as police force are believed to have been sent to Karachi for October 18 public rally of PPP patron-in-chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

A policeman, posted at a nearby place told Cantonment police that he heard only two gunfire and did not see anyone fleeing.

Last year, an MQM activist Syed Asim Zaidi belonging to Shia sect was also killed in targeted shooting by two armed assailants in the city. Then an MQM’s electoral candidate, Fakrul Islam was gunned down followed by three separate incidents of targeted killings of multiple numbers of party workers in 2013.