Mob justice in Multan: Robber stoned to death under police’s shadow
One robber murdered by crowd, another kills himself in fear.
MULTAN:
In an incident disturbingly reminiscent of the 2010 lynching of two young brothers in Sialkot, two dacoits died as victims of brutal mob violence in Multan on Sunday.
One shot himself in fear of being beaten to death by an angry crowd, while the other was repeatedly pelted with stones until he died.
According to details, two robbers snatched the motorbike of a man identified as Nasir at gunpoint, before escaping towards the urban centre of the city.
Nasir immediately informed his cousin Younus that the robbers were heading in the same direction as Younus’s store, and told him to catch the criminals along with his companions.
When Younus blocked the road and tried to grab them, one of the robbers retaliated and opened fire, killing Younus and injuring four other people.
At this point, however, the crowd took the law into their own hands. Shopkeepers and passersby started beating the men mercilessly, and one dacoit, in fear of being at the mercy of the violent mob, shot himself.
His fears were not unfounded – the other robber was stoned over and over again. As soon as he regained consciousness, he would be beaten repeatedly until he lost consciousness. This continued until he was ultimately stoned to death.
Police watch on
In the meanwhile, police officials remained silent spectators to the scene. After arriving at the spot where the mob had gathered, fearful officials merely ran into a nearby shop and hid there.
Disturbingly, it appeared that one of the reasons the law enforcers were unwilling to take action was because of the location of the crime. The road on which the victim was beaten and killed lay between two police jurisdictions – the Makhdoom Rasheed Police Station and the Basti Malook Police Station. While the police were busy deciding whose area the crime fell under, people continued to beat the robber till he died.
Finally, around three hours later, DSP Mian Tanveer of the Shujaabaad area (located at a large distance from the crime scene) arrived with Basti Malook SHO Saeed Akhtar. By this time however, the only job left, it appears, was to recover the bodies of the victims. The bodies were shifted to Multan’s Nishtar hospital.
Multan Cantt SP Dr Shehzad Asif told The Express Tribune that one of the robbers had been identified as Noman Dogar, who was wanted in cases of robbery and murder. Police officials added that legal action would be initiated after both robbers’ identity had been established. So far, no FIR has been registered against any of the citizens.
Another late arrival on the scene was the MNA of the same constituency where the murder occurred – Ali Musa Gilani, son of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani. Ali Musa reassured the mob that the law and order situation would be ‘improved soon’.
His appearance was preceded by his rival in the recent by-polls for the constituency, Abdul Ghaffar Dogar who had held out similar assurance to the crowd.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 26th, 2012.
In an incident disturbingly reminiscent of the 2010 lynching of two young brothers in Sialkot, two dacoits died as victims of brutal mob violence in Multan on Sunday.
One shot himself in fear of being beaten to death by an angry crowd, while the other was repeatedly pelted with stones until he died.
According to details, two robbers snatched the motorbike of a man identified as Nasir at gunpoint, before escaping towards the urban centre of the city.
Nasir immediately informed his cousin Younus that the robbers were heading in the same direction as Younus’s store, and told him to catch the criminals along with his companions.
When Younus blocked the road and tried to grab them, one of the robbers retaliated and opened fire, killing Younus and injuring four other people.
At this point, however, the crowd took the law into their own hands. Shopkeepers and passersby started beating the men mercilessly, and one dacoit, in fear of being at the mercy of the violent mob, shot himself.
His fears were not unfounded – the other robber was stoned over and over again. As soon as he regained consciousness, he would be beaten repeatedly until he lost consciousness. This continued until he was ultimately stoned to death.
Police watch on
In the meanwhile, police officials remained silent spectators to the scene. After arriving at the spot where the mob had gathered, fearful officials merely ran into a nearby shop and hid there.
Disturbingly, it appeared that one of the reasons the law enforcers were unwilling to take action was because of the location of the crime. The road on which the victim was beaten and killed lay between two police jurisdictions – the Makhdoom Rasheed Police Station and the Basti Malook Police Station. While the police were busy deciding whose area the crime fell under, people continued to beat the robber till he died.
Finally, around three hours later, DSP Mian Tanveer of the Shujaabaad area (located at a large distance from the crime scene) arrived with Basti Malook SHO Saeed Akhtar. By this time however, the only job left, it appears, was to recover the bodies of the victims. The bodies were shifted to Multan’s Nishtar hospital.
Multan Cantt SP Dr Shehzad Asif told The Express Tribune that one of the robbers had been identified as Noman Dogar, who was wanted in cases of robbery and murder. Police officials added that legal action would be initiated after both robbers’ identity had been established. So far, no FIR has been registered against any of the citizens.
Another late arrival on the scene was the MNA of the same constituency where the murder occurred – Ali Musa Gilani, son of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani. Ali Musa reassured the mob that the law and order situation would be ‘improved soon’.
His appearance was preceded by his rival in the recent by-polls for the constituency, Abdul Ghaffar Dogar who had held out similar assurance to the crowd.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 26th, 2012.