Policeman’s ‘accidental shot’ kills woman as ‘ration drives turn violent’

A 25-year-old woman lost her life in what police described an accidental shot to her head by a policeman after two ration drives being carried out simultaneously turned violent in PIB Colony’s Nishter Basti on Wednesday.

The woman was present in her apartment’s balcony when she sustained the bullet injury the PIB police said, adding that the policeman had fired the shot into the air to disperse a crowd which attacked a police team in the area.

According to a press release issued by DIG East Zone Noman Siddiqui’s spokesperson, a fight broke out between members of two welfare organisations, namely the Nisther Society Welfare Trust and the Shah Community Welfare Trust, in their ration drives following which chaotic scenes were witnessed on the spot.

The police said as four policemen reached the site, they tried to control the crowd and asked the members of the two welfare organisations to adopt the standard operating procedure ordered by the government for the ration drives.

“After an exchange of harsh words between the police team and the workers of the charity organisations, a police officer fired a shot into the air to disperse the crowd,” said SHO Shakir Hussain. “But unfortunately, the bullet hit a woman who was standing at a nearby building.”

As the woman was “accidentally shot and injured, the crowed attacked the police personnel, damaged a police mobile van and broke its windows by hurling stones”, the police said. The woman, Saba, wife of Noman Khan, was rushed a nearby private hospital where she succumbed to her injury, the police said.

According to residents, the policeman who opened fire was head constable Azeem, who had allegedly harassed people in the area previously too. They alleged that the head constable was drunk at that time.

But the police said the four policemen, including Azeem, were trying to disperse the crowd. The two weapons with which two shots were fired had been sent for a forensic analysis, the police said.

In his press release, DIG Siddiqui said the four policemen had been detained. They are head constable Azeemuddin, constables Ashfaq, Zeeshan Shah and Ibrar.

The press release said two shots were fired from small weapons. “After the incident occurred, the DSP and the SHO of the area along with the police contingent reached the area and detained all the four cops and also seized two empties each of 30bore and 9mm from the crime scene.”

The detained cops were sent to the Civil Hospital Karachi for medical check-ups. The woman’s post-mortem was conducted at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and her body was handed over to the family.

The police said they approached the woman’s husband to lodge an FIR; however, he refused to register a case. District East SSP Tanvir Alam Odho said the police would register a case on behalf of the state if the victim’s husband and other family members refused to lodge a case. However, no case was registered till the filing of this news story.

A day ago, a man was killed while his brother and two neighbours were shot and injured after they had a clash with a group during a ration drive in the Surjani Town area.