Mob justice rules as two robbers are killed

One beaten to death by mob, another run over by his car

KARACHI: Street crimes remain on the rise in the city despite the ongoing Karachi operation that began on September 5, 2013, arresting more than 150,000 criminals. In the first week of the New Year, two major incidents took place in two different districts - East and South - where Karachiites took the law into their own hands and killed alleged robbers.

A suspected robber died and another was critically injured as a man run them over in revenge for being mugged in Gulistan-e-Jauhar, an area known for street crime. The robbers mugged a 22-year-old university student, Tariq Javed, stealing cash and a mobile phone from his possession.

“Two armed men riding a motorcycle took cash and my mobile phone at gunpoint after I came out of an ATM booth,” Javed said. “I decided to take action and started chasing them,” he added. Javed followed them and ran them over with his car, killing one of the robbers on the spot and injuring the other. Javed also sustained injuries, however, he was released after medical treatment while the injured robber remained admitted at a hospital. He was identified as Naseer Azhar while the deceased’s body was moved to the Edhi morgue in Sohrab Goth.



The police reached the crime scene and recovered the cash and the mobile phone. They also recovered the motorcycle used by the robbers as well as a 30 bore TT pistol. SHO Haji Iqbal said that the police was waiting for the deceased to be identified while a case was registered and further investigation was under way.

In another incident, two robbers were killed by a mob and the police as they attempted to flee after killing a shopkeeper in Saddar. At first, two armed men riding a motorcycle stole mobile phones from a roadside mobile shop and attempted to escape after shooting at the shopkeeper.

Following the gunshots, scores of shopkeepers gathered and managed to catch one of the robbers and began beating him with stones and iron rods. The police reached the location and killed the other robber after an exchange of fire. However, 24-year-old shopkeeper, Owais Shahjahan, who was shot in the abdomen, succumbed to his injuries while being treated at Civil hospital.



The traders and shopkeepers from the Electronics Market in Saddar staged a protest against the incident. The market association also announced to keep the shops closed today (Monday) in reaction to the killing of their fellow shopkeeper. “These incidents always happen on Sundays because of the lack of deployment of a police mobile despite the market being open for business,” said Electronics Markets Association President Rizwan Irfan.

“The police always say that there is a shortage of strength but we cannot afford to have such incidents become a norm,” Irfan added. Preedy SHO Israr Afridi confirmed that one robber was killed by the crowd while another was killed by the police, adding that the stolen mobile phones, motorcycle and the pistols were recovered and a case was registered.