KARACHI: At least five persons, including two policemen, suffered bullet injuries during an anti-encroachment operation in Ghazi Goth, an Scheme-33 locality near Safoora Goth, on Saturday.

Police claimed that two cops were shot at and wounded when ‘land grabbers’ opened fire on them while residents alleged that three people — two women and a 15-year-old boy — suffered injuries in “firing and tear gas shelling” by the law-enforcers.

Authorities stopped the anti-encroachment drive being carried out under the orders of the deputy commissioner (DC) East after the incidents.

A police spokesperson identified the wounded policemen as Constable Manzoor Khan, 52, posted at the Sharea Faisal police station and Constable Zulfiqar Sharafudin, 32, posted at the Anti-Encroachment Establishment.

Two cops, three residents suffer bullet wounds; city police chief orders probe; SUP condemns action against ‘Sindhi population’

A Chhipa spokesperson in a statement said that two women — Tasleem Yusuf, 32, and Zeenat Bashir, 35, and 15-year-old boy Noor Malik were also injured.

The injured were taken to different hospitals. Police Surgeon Summaiya Syed said the condition of the wounded boy and two women was out of danger.

She said that the boy suffered a single bullet wound in the right thigh while Taslem and Zeenad sustained multiple pellet injuries on the face, shoulder and torso.

‘Illegal encroachments in three Dehs’

East-SSP Syed Abdul Rahim Sherazi said that the DC-East in a letter to police and other authorities on July 22 had requested an action for removal of illegal encroachments from three Dehs — Songal, Doozan and Thoming, in Gulzar-i-Hijri, district East.

The letter stated that an anti-encroachment operation had been planned between July 26 and 31 in the three Dehs. The DC had requested the police, other law-enforcers for adequate force and provision of machinery along with labour for the anti-encroachment drive.

The anti-encroachment force started demolishing ‘encroachments’ and the local police provided support to them amid protest by locals, added the SSP.

The protest became violent when some “criminal elements joined the protesters” and opened straight fire on the force, resulting in bullet injuries to two policemen, he said.

Another officer, Aurangzeb Khattak, said: “Land grabbers and activists of some ethnic parties chanting slogans resorted to firing on police and anti-encroachment force resulting in bullet injuries to two policemen”.

Protesters’ version

Mahboob Abbasi of a local NGO, who is one of the leaders of the protesters, said that the ‘builder mafia’ was eyeing Ghazi Goth and the police and administration were allegedly supporting them.

He claimed that the mafia had also attempted to occupy the village in 2016, but the residents got a stay order from a court.

He claimed Ghazi Goth was spread over 110 acres and the mafia was allegedly trying to ‘occupy’ four to five acres having commercial value. He claimed that residents had ‘lease papers’ and all civic facilities had been provided to them. The residents had built up to three-storey houses. The police and anti-encroachment force were not showing any ‘papers’ to residents in connection with their demolition drive.

Mr Abbasi claimed that the anti-encroachment force supported by local police started demolishing shops and houses. When the people put up resistance, the police allegedly resorted to ‘massive’ tear gas shelling and firing, resulting in injuries to several persons.

He claimed that for the last several days the police had launched an operation and six FIRs had been registered against residents, political and social workers, and five FIRs had also been registered against himself.

He called upon authorities and the Sindh chief minister to take notice as residents were ‘voters’ of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party. He said the villages were ‘beauty’ of Karachi and the Sindh government should protect them and initiate an inquiry into the incidents.

He said it appeared that the provincial government was “helpless before the builder mafia”.

Meanwhile, in a statement issued here, Sindh United Party president Syed Jalal Mehmood Shah condemned the ‘demolition drive’ in Ghazi Goth.

He said his party condemned the action allegedly carried out to “uproot the Sindhi population and settle people from other countries and provinces in the Sindhi goths”.

Meanwhile, Karachi police chief Javed Odho took notice of reports of ‘torture’ on women in Ghazi Goth and directed the DIG-East to conduct an inquiry, fix responsibility and take action against responsible officers.

“No one would be allowed to take law into their hands as protection of people was first priority of the police,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2022