Robbers on the loose kill six

Citizens losing trust in police as street crime incidents surge

KARACHI:

Ruthless muggers roam free in the city, robbing and killing people on resistance with impunity.

Three young men were shot dead by robbers in Korangi on the night between Saturday and Sunday, taking the number of people killed during robberies during the last 36 hours to six.

The citizens of Karachi are losing trust in the police which, they feel, have failed to control the rising incidents of robberies.

Usman, owner of a dairy and bakery shop, was fatally injured when robbers opened fire on him near Heera Masjid in Kazimabad area of Malir, according to Model Colony police. He died of excessive bleeding while being transported to hospital in an Edhi ambulance.

The body was shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), where doctors confirmed that he was fatally shot twice in the chest and arm. Usman, 25, was a resident of Ali Chowk area of Jaffar Bagh, Model Colony, according to a Karachi police spokesperson.

The victim was single and second in order among three siblings. Usman, who hailed from Layyah district of Punjab, had opened the milk shop one and a half year ago. The Express Tribune has received the CCTV footage of the incident which shows how the two armed robbers riding a motorcycle pull up at the shop and try to enter. The shopkeeper tries to resist the robbers who open fire at him and escape without looting anything. A large number of local residents gather outisde the shop after the firing.

A Model Colony police party arrived at the crime scene and called a forensic department team for evidence collection. They collected two empty bullet shells, fingerprints of the suspects and other evidence from the crime scene.

The relatives of the victim refused to allow doctors to conduct a post-mortem examination of the body, saying that three members of their family had been shot by robbers before Usman's murder, but police have done nothing. They claimed that the killers of one of their relatives were arrested from Punjab, but were later released by the police.

The duty officer of Model Colony police station tried to convince the family to allow the autopsy but they did not listen and took away the body.

In a second incident, a 28-year-old man was stabbed to death by robbers as he resisted an attempted robbery at Piyala Hotel in Sector 36/B of Korangi district within the limits of Landhi police station. The victim's body was shifted to the JPMC in an Edhi ambulance. The victim could not be immediately identified and police said they are investigating the incident.

In the Liaquatabad Supermarket area, Tayyab Muhamad Saleh, 30, was shot dead for refusing to hand over his cell phone to muggers.

Liaquatabad police station SHO Sanaullah said that Tayyab was sitting outside his home to catch some fresh air during power outage. He was talking on his cell phone when two suspects came on a motorbike and told him to hand over his cell phone and shot him in the head when he refused to do so.

In a third incident, armed robbers shot and injured a man who put up resistance during a robbery at Sadiq Medical Store in Landhi. The injured was shifted to the JPMC in a Chhipa ambulance where police identified him as 45-year-old Zulfiqar Ali.

Separately, two men were injured when robbers opened fire during a looting incident near Dua Hotel in Kati Pahari area of Manghopir. The injured were shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital in a Chhipa ambulance. Police identified them as Muhammad Sajid, 25, and Muhammad Nadeem, 40. Further investigations are in progress.

Meanwhile, armed robbers shot and injured a young man during a robbery in Baldia Town. The robbers opened fire when the young man resisted their robbery bid near Northern Bypass Municipality No. 4 of Mochko area. The injured was shifted to the Civil Hospital where police identified him as 21-year-old Iqbal.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 5^th, 2022.