JI councilor shot dead in Karachi’s Surjani Town over power theft

KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami union councilor was shot dead and another wounded during a brawl over a ‘kunda’ (illegal electricity connections) in Surjani Town.

Muhammad Habib, aged 60, councilor of UC-05 Manghopir was shot dead in Sector 4C of Surjani Town late on Thursday allegedly by power thieves.  The body was moved to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. Soon after the incident, a heavy contingent of police reached the spot and started an investigation.

According to reports, the area residents complained to him and the UC-06 councilor about the presence of illegal connections and electricity theft. They held a meeting and decided to take action. Soon after the meeting, six people on three motorcycles came and opened fire, killing the councilor on the spot and injuring five others.

Surjani Police said three suspects have been detained in connection with the incident. Police said the main suspect who opened fire has fled to interior Sindh. Police said the assailants wanted to collect money to bribe officials for stealing electricity.

The case was registered in Surjani Town Police Station under provisions of murder.  A case of kidnapping has also been added as the accused kidnapped a man named Muzamil.

The case was filed against the victim’s son. Six people including Aftab, Faisal, Adil, and Amjad Kalhoro have been nominated while two others have not been identified.

JI Karachi President Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman arrived at the hospital late last night after the incident. He said that Habib had gone for a meeting after he was informed of an illegal electricity connection. He was gunned down as soon as he left the meeting, he said.

Hafiz Naeem alleged that the ‘kunda’ mafia had the backing of the PPP. He demanded immediate notice by the caretaker chief minister and IG Police and to arrest the culprits and their handlers.

He said that the JI would protest if the authorities did not file a first information report of the killing or fabricate the medical examination.

A K-Electric spokesman said the company considers the tragic incident in Surjani as an attack on its teams against power theft. We stand in solidarity with the victim’s family and local residents to seek justice, said the K-Electric spokesperson

The spokesperson said they are committed to rooting out the presence of ‘kundas’ in the area and request full assistance from law enforcement agencies.

K-Electric teams faced several violent attacks during operations against illegal networks in Surjani. However, operations have been conducted several times in this area the impression of collusion is completely baseless, the spokesperson added.

We constantly highlight that certain elements are inciting citizens to take the law into their own hands. This abomination must be stopped immediately to prevent the increasing aggression and violent attacks of power thieves, the spokesperson added.

While calling for collectively condemning such incidents, the spokesperson said ending electricity theft needs to be resolved together.

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