An alleged robber was beaten to death and another was injured by a mob in the New Karachi Industrial Area, on Saturday.
The incident took place when three men were accused of looting passers-by on Sector 5-E, near Nala Stop in New Karachi. As the hue and cry spread, a mob gathered and caught two of the men while one managed to escape. The crowd beat the men and threw them into the nullah.
One of the men died from the beating while the other is in a critical condition. The police arrived at the scene 20 minutes after the incident. Both victims were taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.
Over 200 people were involved in the beating and most of them were nearby shopkeepers. An onlooker said that this was the reaction to the increasing street crime and robberies in the locality. Angry shopkeepers said that if the police had not reached the site, they would have shot and burnt the robbers as a lesson to other criminals.
“Street crimes, especially looting, has become a routine and that’s why people have resorted to these actions,” said a shopkeeper, Amir. “Even if the police arrested them, these robbers would be out in a few days and our lives and money would be at stake.”
Police said that none of the alleged robbers were shot and no specific tool was used to beat them. The police did not find any weapon on the men, suggesting that they were unarmed. SP Chaudhry Asad Ali said it was possible that someone from the crowd could have taken the weapon or it could have fallen into the nullah.
“An investigation is necessary to confirm if the men were robbers,” he said. “There have been cases in which innocent people were targeted due to personal vendettas.”
The police are waiting to question the man who survived.
The officer said that a case would be registered against the mob. A similar incident took place on January 18 when a mob beat a suspected robber to death in Shershah.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 29th, 2012.
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This is a dangerous trend. Why?
On one hand now any one can Use an Angry Mob to take his Personal Revenge without being detected, while on the other hand local residents have Seen time and again that many robberies had Proof of Police collabration & protection.