The Rangers have arrested more than a dozen suspects in a search operation conducted at Godhra area of New Karachi that started after a clash between two religious groups, as three more bodies were found in various parts of the city on Monday.
Police said both groups had a history of conflicts over collection of funds, donation and management of a hospital in the area. Police and the Rangers conducted a search operation and arrested more than 13 men.
Armed clashes between the two rival groups had claimed seven more lives, as gunfight continued until the filing of this report.
A police official said the armed clash led to firing from both sides, the Sunni Tehreek and the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ).
In the overnight clashes, four people, including a woman, were killed and more than 13 injured as the area people witnessed intense firing.
A police official of North Karachi Industrial Area police station told Pakistan Today that Sector 11-G and 5-G remained the worst-hit.
A spokesman for the ASWJ said the “armed attacks on his party workers” claimed two lives and left another wounded.
“We strongly believe that there is a third element which is actively involved in an attempt to disrupt the sectarian harmony,” he said.
“We have repeatedly asked the ST leadership to look at the issue from this angle as well, but unfortunately there has been no serious effort by police, who prefer more to wait and see to control any kind of violence until it claims several innocent lives.”
The police authorities, on the other hand, claimed to have controlled the situation “to a large extent”. However, they admitted that there had been no arrests.
Meanwhile, bodies of three people in gunny bags were recovered from various areas of the city.
Separately, the Rangers arrested three targeted killers from Liaqatabad on Monday.
According to sources, the Rangers conducted raids in two separate areas of Liaquatabad on a tip off and arrested three alleged targeted killers, identified as Sohail alias Munna, Kashif and Saleem. The officials also recovered weapons from them.
The alleged targeted killers belonged to a Karachi-based political party as the latest arrest was being considered the most significant and effective action against target killers by the Rangers.
