Citizens kill three robbers as police fail to stem street crime

Three young robbers also shot and injured as they tried to flee after robbing a man

KARACHI:

Three suspected robbers were shot, two of them fatally, by people as they tried to flee following a botched robbery on the night between Saturday and Sunday. The incident, which took place under the Jail Chowrangi bridge in New Town, was not reported to police.

Sharing details of the incident, Sub Inspector Aqeel Ahmed of New Town police station said all the three appeared to be in their twenties. While the identities of the deceased robbers are unknown, SI Ahmed identified the injured as 28-year-old Muhammad Ali, aka Ali Lambu.

According to police, four robbers riding on motorcycles were trying to escape after robbing an unidentified man. An unknown motorist intervened, opening fire and injuring three of them. One of them died on the spot, while another managed to escape and sought refuge under a nearby bridge.

Interestingly, he called police to report that he had been shot by an unknown motorist, while confirming that a robber was also shot dead during the incident. Police found his statement to be suspicious. The body of the deceased robber and the injured were transported to hospital.

During police interrogation, the injured man confessed to being an accomplice of the deceased robber, identifying himself as Muhammad Ali, though he claimed ignorance about the identity of his deceased accomplice.

An hour after the incident, police received information about the discovery of another body under the Jail Chowrangi bridge. They arrived at the scene, retrieved the body, and transported it to the JPMC where Ali also identified him as his accomplice. Police transferred the bodies to a mortuary, while the injured robber was taken to the police station for further investigation following medical treatment.

In a separate incident, a 25-year-old man was fatally shot near Ayesha Manzil in Gulberg on Saturday night. The victim's body was transported to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. Police suspect that the victim may have been involved in street crime and was shot by unknown assailants.

A bag was discovered with the deceased, leading authorities to speculate that the victim may have snatched a laptop from an unknown citizen before being pursued and subsequently shot. The citizen recovered the stolen laptop from the bag but left it behind due to bloodstains. The deceased sustained two gunshots, one to the neck and another to the navel. Police are working to obtain surveillance camera footage from the vicinity to piece together the facts.

In a third incident, three motorcycle-riding robbers were shot and injured in Sector 15-B of Bufroz Zone in Gabol Town. Police apprehended the three robbers, and shifted them to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medical treatment.

A police spokesperson identified them as 19-year-old Amir Hussain, 28-year-old Abdul Rehman, and 22-year-old Ismail. They attempted to rob a citizen, only to be met with resistance from a security guard seated in a car and an unidentified citizen who opened fire on them.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 2^nd, 2023.