Two injured in mysterious explosion in Old City area

Two people wounded in a mysterious explosion in the old city area on the night between Friday and Saturday.

Following the explosion, which occurred in the Napier police jurisdiction, ambulances from welfare organisations reached the scene and transported the casualties to the Civil Hospital Karachi for medical treatment, where the injured persons were identified as Daniyal and Babar.

A heavy contingent of law enforcers, including police and Rangers, also reached the scene and cordoned it off.

Experts from the bomb disposal squad also arrived. Though shortly after the incident, it was declared an accidental explosion, the BD experts later suggested in their initial report that the blast occurred when a detonator exploded, containing a small quantity of explosive.

In the report, the BD experts further said that the detonator was of a hand grenade, containing one gram of explosive of aluminium material.

Police said the blast took place when a man, Petal Das, was keeping himself and his friends warm by lighting a bonfire. When they touched a suspicious material near the bonfire, the blast occurred. His friends, Daniyal, a son of a policeman, and Babar, were wounded.

The police have registered a case on behalf of state and initiated further investigations.

Five held

Five suspects, including a woman, were arrested during a raid conducted on a tip-off in the Gadap City area on Saturday.

Police said Rehana, Javed, Nasir Baloch, Waqar Pathan and Hamza were members of an interprovincial gang of drugs dealers. A car and 33 kilograms of drugs were recovered from their possession.

Rehana used to bring drugs to Karachi from Balochistan and then they were supplied in different parts of Karachi, police said.

The arrested woman had been arrested by the Balochistan police in the past as well. Cases against them have been registered while an investigation is under way.