A man was shot dead while three others received injuries during a violent clash between two religious groups on Saturday night over the possession of a mosque in Mehmoodabad area of Karachi, falling in the jurisdiction of Baloch Colony police station.

Police said that the mosque was given under the administrative control of one sect when members of a 'perceived' rival sect attacked it.

DIG East Amir Farooqi told Dawn that the mosque was handed over to a Deobandi group under court orders.

“The transition occurred smoothly in the day but at night, at around 11 pm, around 150-200 men from Sunni Tehreek and Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) attacked the men present inside the mosque,” said the senior officer.

Both sides resorted to fist fights and attacked each other with sticks, he said adding that "some attackers were armed as well".

At least four persons sustained bullet wounds in the clash and were shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) where doctors pronounced one Kashif Hussain, 35, as dead on arrival, officials said.

Examine: Why are matters of faith beyond discussion?

The injured persons, who were admitted for treatment, have been identified as Yamin, 30; Adeel Afzal, 30; and Raja Hafeez, 44; got admitted for treatment, said JPMC Director Dr Seemin Jamali.

Meanwhile, the contingents of police rushed to the area, where the incident had happened, to prevent the situation from deteriorating further. "The situation is under control at the moment, " DIG Farooqi said.

IG Sindh Dr Syed Kaleem Imam was quick to take notice of "injuries to six persons during the clash" and sought a report from the East SSP.