Baloch ‘VIP’, guards thrash PPP official
”
KARACHI:
The son of a Baloch chieftain and his gun-toting body guards brutally thrashed a local PPP official and his friend in a posh neighbourhood of the metropolitan city on February 19 and the video of the violent assault went viral on social media, forcing police to register a case against the assaulters.
Police registered the case against Shahzain Marri, the son of an influential figure from Balochistan, and his body guards for assaulting Barkat Soomro, Deputy Secretary Information of PPP Youth Wing in Karachi Division, and his friend Waqas near Boat Basin in Clifton.
DIG South Syed Asad Raza said that seven security guards of Shahzain Marri have been taken into custody during late-night raids at two locations. Four Kalashnikov assault rifles have also been recovered from the guards who DIG Raza identified as Ghous Bakhsh, Jalal Khan, Ali Zain, and Hassan.
DIG Raza further stated that an investigation is underway to determine whether or not the recovered weapons are licenced. Shahzain Marri himself has fled to Quetta after the violent incident, he said, adding that they have contacted the Balochistan government for Marri’s arrest.
The incident was filmed by someone near the crime scene and the video was put up on social media which has since gone viral.
In a video statement, Barkat Soomro recounted the disturbing incident. Soomro explained that he and his friend were returning from dinner at Boat Basin Food Street when they heard an SUV honking horn at a distance behind them. He pulled up his Alto on the roadside to allow the SUV to pass, but the occupants hurled profanities as they drove past.
The all of a sudden, the SUV slowed down in front of Soomro’s Alto and banged into it in reverse. Moments later, several men armed with sophisticated weapons got down, came towards Soomro’s car, pulled him out and started thrashing him. In the meantime, Marri also alighted and came to the driver seat and hit Soomro’s friend. Soomro kept asking what he had done wrong, but the attackers would not listen – instead they shouted to each other, “Hit him in the head and eyes.”
Soomro was left distraught by the public humiliation and the impunity of the attackers in the upscale area of the city. “When will this VIP culture end?” he asked, adding that an ordinary citizen was beaten with weapons in a posh area.
”
