–Incident occurred during scuffle between paramilitary force and fruit vendors in Hazarganji area
QUETTA: At least one boy was killed and four others were injured after Frontier Corps (FC) soldiers allegedly opened fire in Quetta’s Hazargani area on Friday.
An eyewitness told Pakistan Today that the incident occurred following a scuffle between personnel of Quetta police and fruit vendors of the Hazarganji Sabzi Mandi.
“Police personnel on Friday afternoon visited the market to receive monthly [extortion] from local vendors. When a person selling mangoes refused to hand them over his hard-earned money, they started to beat him up and destroyed his cart,” said the witness, adding that this led to a scuffle as enraged shopkeepers and passersby stepped in to save the vendor.
The witness further told this scribe that it wasn’t later when the police personnel pulled the vendor and another person into their van. “Following resistance from the shopkeepers, some soldiers of FC reached the site. At first they tried to neutralise the situation, however, they failed to do so.”
“FC personnel, along with police, then started firing shots in the air to disperse the enraged crowd, which led to a stampede. Amid the chaos and aerial firing, a young passerby was hit by a bullet and he died on the spot. Four other people were also injured in the indiscriminate firing of the FC and police personnel,” he claimed.
A video has also started making rounds over the internet, which shows an enraged crowd chanting slogans in the Hazarganji market.
Despite repeated attempts by Pakistan Today, officials of Quetta police could not be contacted for the official version of the incident.
It may be noted that the incident isn’t the first of its kind as two people were reportedly killed earlier this month after FC personnel opened fire at a passenger bus in the suburbs of Quetta.
According to media reports, soldiers had signalled the vehicle to stop in Kuchlak for inspection but the driver had ignored the warning. Upon suspicion, FC personnel had opened fire and as a result, two people were killed while multiple others had reportedly sustained injuries.
A widely-shared video of the incident had drawn ire of thousands of social media users.
