Chief patron of education in Sindh: Hassan Ali Effendi’s grandson killed

KARACHI: Zain Ali Effendi, grandson of Hassan Ali Effendi, the illustrious academician from Sindh who spearheaded the cause of education among the Muslims of Sindh and the founder of Sindh Madressatul Islam School during the British Raj, was killed while resisting a robbery in Karachi.

The tragic incident took place on the night between Tuesday and Wednesday at a house located near Peoples Chowrangi, close to Quaid-e-Azam’s mausoleum within the jurisdiction of Jamshed Quarters police station where a group of armed robbers barged into the house and killed Zain Ali Effendi when he resisted robbery. According to police, the robbers escaped along with the looted valuables from the house.

The deceased, 50-year-old Zain Ali Effendi, son of Zulfiqar Effendi, was the grandson of Hassan Ali Effendi, the founder of Karachi’s Sindh Madressatul Islam School which was built in 1885 during the British Raj. Pakistan’s founder Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah also studied in the school for sometime before proceeding to London. The school that later evolved into a college and is now a university served several generations of Muslims of Sindh, particularly at a time when modern academic learning was not available to them.

According to the videos circulated on the social media, the robbers clad in Shalwar Kameez and joggers drove to the house in a car at 3:55am. Police said that the group comprising five members barged into the residence of the deceased and remained there for up to 35 minutes. “The robbers tied up the watchman with ropes and held the deceased’s wife, two daughters, one son and three to four servants hostage. They fired six bullets at the victim when he put up resistance, of which one struck him in the face killing him on the spot,” said SHO Jamshed Quarters Police Station Chaudhry Zahid. “The robbers had entered the room of the deceased after breaking down the door.”

The robbers then went on with looting the valuables including gold ornaments, cell phones and purses. The police investigators were inquiring into the cause of the murder, whether it was a targeted killing or the result of a robbery.

Police suspect that the robbers were of Afghan origin and could be members of the ‘White Corolla Gang’ as they had used a white Corolla car in the incident. Police have recovered six empty pistol shells from the crime scene and sent them to the forensic division for ballistic cross matching. The police investigators have also obtained the fingerprints of the suspects from the bungalow. The police have also obtained the CCTV footage and initiated investigations to trace, identify and arrest the suspects.

Acting on information about the incident, the Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah sought report from the Additional IGP Karachi Ghulam Nabi Memon. He also visited the bereaved family. A case has been registered while further investigations were underway.

The deceased, Zain Effendi, was the owner of an information technology firm, a food company and possessed agricultural property in rural Sindh.