Enraged mobs set afire at least nine heavy vehicles on the night between Wednesday and Thursday after a dumper hit a biker and the driver tried to escape.
Police later arrested over a dozen people identified with the help of CCTV and video footages.
Police high-ups also warned the tanker owners leader who had come to the site of a torched vehicle with heavily armed men challenging the arsonists.
Though the situation in the Central and East districts is under control with mainstream political and religious parties urging people to abide by the law, anger runs high in many sensitive areas.
The roads in the metropolitan city have become increasingly perilous as the Traffic Police have failed to stem the tide of deadly road accidents involving heavy vehicles, triggering protests and arson attacks.
According to statistics from the Chhipa Foundation, 80 lives have been lost in road accidents in just 99 days this year. Among the victims, 18 were killed by dump trucks, 31 by trailers, 17 by water tankers, five by Mazda trucks, and nine by speeding buses. These stats represent not just numbers, but shattered families - each one mourning the loss of a loved one.
In the latest road tragedy, a motorcyclist was run over by a speeding trailer in Mansehra Colony of Landhi. The victim, identified as 25-year-old Masood Khan, died the spot. The body was later shifted to JPMC for medico-legal formalities. The driver of the trailer, Muhammad Safdar, was arrested by the Sharafi Goth police. Separately in Surjani Town, a teenage boy, Muhammad Saad Baig, was injured after being hit by a Mazda truck. He was rushed to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for treatment. The boy's family settled the matter with the driver on the spot and didn't pursue any legal action.
Since the Traffic Police seem helpless, people have started taking the law into their own hands to dispense "vigilante justice." In one such incident, a mob set fire to five dumper trucks near Power House Chowrangi in North Karachi; four water tankers were also torched. The arson attack was triggered by an accident in which a man was run over and injured by a dump truck. As tensions escalated, an angry mob chased the vehicle and set it ablaze. The mob then targeted other passing dumpers, pelting them with stones, smashing windows, and setting them on fire.
When Fire Brigade personnel arrived to put out the fire, they were met with intense stone pelting, injuring one of their drivers, Sabir, and damaging the fire engine's windshield. The situation escalated quickly, with protesters blocking the roads and engaging in rioting.
A huge police contingent was deployed, but even they couldn't control the situation. The area, particularly from Nagan Chowrangi to 4K Chowrangi, remained volatile, with reports of gunfire and continued stone pelting throughout the night.
The unrest continued for hours, with sporadic outbreaks of violence.
The District Central police later registered five cases and arrested 19 people involved in setting fire to dump trucks and water tankers.
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