Robbery victim seeks justice, gets 'robbed by cops'

In a brazen case of lawlessness, a transporter from North Karachi, who was robbed by muggers last month, was allegedly robbed, harassed, and intimidated by police when he sought justice.

The victim - Danish Abdul Ghaffar, a resident of Sector 5A1, North Karachi - claimed on Friday that on the night of February 27, four armed robbers on a motorcycle intercepted him outside his home. They snatched over Rs65,000 in cash, two mobile phones, ATM cards, and his car's documents.

He reported the incident to Madadgar 15, and went to the Khawaja Ajmer Nagri police station to lodge an FIR. However, Danish claimed that police refused to register the case, telling him to return in a few days after submitting an application.

Danish provided police with a written application and CCTV footage of the robbery. Still, when he returned to the police station two days later to follow up, he was allegedly detained for over three hours without the filing of any FIR.

On March 4, Danish was stopped by six police officers near Khurshid Begum Park. He alleged the officers began harassing him, accusing him of carrying a loaded weapon and unlawfully seizing Rs78,000 in cash and his licensed pistol. Amidst a crowd of onlookers who filmed the incident, the police officers falsely claimed that Danish had threatened them with his gun.

According to witnesses, police's claims were contradicted by the people present at the scene, who loudly disputed their version of events. CCTV footage from the area also reportedly shows the police officers lying. When Danish called his brother for help the officers became agitated and forced him onto their motorcycle, warning him that his social media posts about SHO Ghulam Yasin would result in consequences.

Danish was reportedly beaten by the police officers while being driven to the Khawaja Ajmer Nagri police station. At the station, Danish was presented to SHO Ghulam Yasin, who allegedly told him, "You were on my target, and I will frame you in a case that will keep you in jail for the rest of your life." Three of the police officers involved in the incident reportedly had name tags reading Asad, Adeel, and Danish, while the names of the other three officers were not visible.