KARACHI, June 23: Bullet-riddled bodies of a man and his teenaged nephew were found in the Napier and Baghdadi areas on Saturday, police said.

They said that 30-year-old Zahid had gone missing on Friday and later his younger brother, Siraj, got a phone call from Zahid’s cellphone through which the abductors demanded a ransom of Rs60,000 for his safe release.

The police said that Siraj followed the abductors’ directives and went to some place in Pak Colony along with his teenage nephew, Sunny, to pay the ransom amount. However, they did not return.

An official at the Napier police station said that the body of a young man, later identified as Zahid, was found along a road near Timber Market. The body bore severe torture marks and the victim was shot multiple bullets.

The body was shifted to the Civil Hospital Karachi for medico-legal formalities.

About an hour later, the police found the body of another man near the Native Jetty bridge. He was identified as Sunny, Zahid’s teenage nephew. He had also been killed in the same manner.

Baghdadi SHO Inspectpr Ghulam Nabi Afridi said that Zahid’s mother informed the police about the kidnapping and other events. “Though the family denied any personal enmity or the victims’ link with any group, we have reason to believe that the killings are linked to a feud between criminal gangs.”

He said that the victims originally hailed from Haripur and lived in the Usmanabad area of Lyari.

Zahid’s younger brother Siraj was still missing.

The police said they were unsure about the people behind the double murder.

“A known criminal Haris Niazi was killed recently in Lyari. We are not sure but there are some clues which suggest that the kidnapping of the two brothers and their nephew was linked to the same episode,” said the Baghdadi SHO.

However, he said, the police had not found any criminal record of the victims, adding that their relation to or connection with one of the rival gangs might have cost them their lives.

Young man shot dead

A young man was found shot dead in Korangi on Saturday, police said.

They said that 30-year-old Adil Wazir was targeted by armed riders near the Indus Hospital when he was heading home.

“The victim was a resident of the nearby area,” said Inspector Dilawar Jokhio, the SHO of the Zaman Town police station.

“He was hit by three bullets and died on the spot. The body was handed over to the family after medico-legal formalities at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.”

The area SHO was unaware about the motive for the killing and the attackers.

“The victim was once actively associated with the Sunni Tehrik and was recently seen moving and sitting with area activists of another party. So one can’t say with authenticity about his political association,” he added.