Rising street crime leads to ‘mob justice’

KARACHI:

The rising street crime and ineffective policing is forcing the public to take law into their own hands and subject suspected bandits to mob justice in a move that would further erode public confidence in rule of law in the metropolitan city.

In a horrific incident, a suspected mugger was shot dead and another caught by public during an attempted robbery in Pak Colony on Tuesday. The captured mugger was subjected to severe beating by a mob, leading to serious injuries.

The lynching took place near Warsi Masjid in Bara Board within the jurisdiction of Pak Colony police station. Police arrived at the scene after receiving a report and moved the body and the injured to the Civil Hospital with the help of Chippa volunteers.

Rescue officials have yet to identify the bandits, who are said to be around 35 and 25 years old. Police are continuing their investigation.

Chaudhry Javed Akhtar, SHO Pak Colony police station, said that they recovered weapons and three mobile phones from the suspects. Valuable information is expected to be obtained from the injured bandit once he regains consciousness, he added.

In another incident, two suspected bandits looting a man near a petrol pump in Gulbai within the remits of Site B police station were captured and severely beaten by residents before being handed over to police.

The injured robbers, identified as 30-year-old Ismail Shah and 23-year-old Ibrahim, were taken to Civil Hospital for treatment. According to Site B SHO Ayaz Khan, the suspects had snatched a mobile phone from a motorcyclist who was using the device when they were intercepted by the crowd. The suspected bandits, who were reportedly unarmed, were surrounded and attacked by the enraged public before police arrived and took them into custody. SHO Khan confirmed that the suspects were involved in the robbery. One of the injured robbers has a previous criminal record.