Robbers take judge hostage, escape with valuables in Karachi

Two shopkeepers killed, another injured in burglary in New Karachi

KARACHI: Police have registered a case and begun investigations into the robbery at the residence of a District South Additional District Judge in Bahadurabad on Thursday morning. The Sindh IGP has sought a report of the incident from the East SSP.

A gang of five armed men broke into a house in Kokan Cooperative Housing Society at 5am by cutting the grill of the kitchen. Bahadurabad SHO Chaudhry Shahid told The Express Tribune that the family members were awakened and held hostage during the robbery. These included the South Additional District Judge Faiza Khalil, her husband and her mother-in-law.

The robbers stayed in the house for 15 to 20 minutes, during which time they managed to collect Rs100,000 in cash, mobile phones and 15 tola gold, among other things. They then escaped in a car. The SHO said that there were no CCTV cameras installed at the judge’s house and the servants working at the house used to come only in the day time.

The SHO said that the police have taken fingerprints and other evidence from the place of incident. He added that geo-fencing had also been conducted and expected the police would soon find the criminals.



Police have registered the robbery case on behalf of Khalil and started the investigation. Sindh IGP Syed Kaleem Imam has sought a report from the East SSP.

Robbery gone wrong

On the other hand, in a robbery bid that went awry, two men were killed and another injured.

Armed men attempted to rob Abdullah Cold Drink wholesale shop in Godhra Camp, New Karachi industrial area. When the three shopkeepers tried to resist, they opened fire. As a result, 45-year-old Iqbal, son of Abdullah, and 50-year-old Iliyas, son of Yousuf, were severely injured and died during the course of treatment whereas 60-year-old Iliyas, son of Abdullah was injured.

The latter was shifted to a private hospital in a critical condition. One of the men killed and the injured were brothers, while the other deceased was their relative.

Area locals gathered at the place of incident in large numbers along with officials of police and Rangers. The police seized nine bullet shells of a 9mm pistol, one shell of a TT pistol and other evidence from the site of the incident and have started the investigation.

New Karachi DSP Irshad Bhutto told The Express Tribune that six armed men went to the cold drink shop with the intention of robbery. When one of the accused entered the shop, the shopkeepers present inside caught him.

The accused’s accomplices standing outside started firing straight at the shop and as a consequence, a shopkeeper was injured and two others killed, he said. The armed men then managed to flee the scene, he added.

DSP Bhutto further said that the shopkeepers who were injured and died were residents of New Karachi Sector G-11. He said that the 10 bullet shells would be sent to a laboratory for forensic analysis.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 1^st, 2019.