In Karachi, thieves sweep bird shop

KARACHI: Thieves cleaned up a bird shop in Taiser Town, in the jurisdiction of Surjani Town Police Station, on Wednesday night as they stole Rs20,000 cash and birds, including two pairs of cockatiels, 70 quails, 80 pigeons, and scores of Australian parrots.

The shopkeeper, Mohammad Khan, shared that he had closed the shop at 9pm on Wednesday. The next morning, he said, when he reached the shop he could not open the door as the thieves had locked it from inside. After making a few efforts, he was able to enter the shop, where everything was scattered and the birdcages were empty. "The thieves had stolen birds worth around Rs80,000 along with Rs20,000 in cash, which was kept in a safe," he said.

Khan claimed that robberies had become extremely common in the area, adding that it had become difficult for them to carry out business activities in the vicinity. "There is no one to control these robbers," he stated.

The shopkeeper appealed to senior police officials to investigate the incident, arrest the culprits and recover the valuable stolen birds.

However, Surjani Town SHO Jan Muhammad Hamdani said that police have not received any complaint about the robbery.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 31^st, 2020.