A stolen car parked in an empty plot on Khayaban-e-Shamsheer in Karachi’s Defence exploded at around 3:30am on Monday. The South DIG, Javed Alam Odho, confirmed that there was a locally-made bomb planted in the car.
The Suzuki Mehran was completely destroyed in the blast. There were six LPG cylinders in the car as well as the car's own CNG cylinder and officials of the Bomb Disposal Squad had said that they did not find evidence of a cylinder blast. The car’s own CNG cylinder did not explode, according to the police.
DIG Odho presented a report in which it says that there was no target in the explosion. It was carried out with the intent to spread fear and panic, he wrote in the report. He said the bomb was attached to a cylinder but it didn't explode.
Related: Two killed, nine injured in explosion in Karachi’s Quaidabad
The car, which is registered to a man named Sanaullah, was stolen from Jamshed Quarters on Sunday and it was reported missing by a woman identified as Hina. This is not the first time the car has been stolen. Police say that it was stolen in 2007 as well and found after five days.
The owner of the car, who identified himself as a government employee, said that his son had purchased the car a few months ago to learn how to drive. He said it was stolen from near his house at around 6pm or 7pm and they reported the incident within half an hour.
The BDS team spent five hours at the scene. They say the car was parked in an empty plot near 31st street on Khayaban-e-Shamsheer at around 12 midnight.
According to the investigation team, there was food in the car, like daal, that was purchased from a nearby store.
Investigations SSP Tariq Dharejo said investigations into the incident are still ongoing. He said there was a 10-hour span between the car being stolen and the explosion. He said they are investigating why the car was parked in this plot and making use of CCTV footage from nearby cameras.
The case has now been handed over to the Counter-Terrorism Department. The police and Rangers are also working on the investigation.