Hard luck: Man who could smell a thief couldn’t see his killer
One of the men Nasir had caught vowed to come after him.
KARACHI:
Auto electrician Mohammad Nasir had a knack for catching thieves. His sixth sense betrayed him only once and after that he did not get a second chance because he died.
Around a fortnight ago, two motorcyclists shot the local hero dead before he could pounce on them.
Nasir used to own a motorcycle repair shop on the same street as Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. The 45-year-old man had become a local hero for his ability to identify suspicious activities in the area. His last catch was of two robbers near a school in Paposh. One of the men, who had absconded from police custody, had vowed to come after him.
“There was no one like Nasir Bhai,” says Haider, who is also a mechanic. “The people would run away from the robbers but he would always chase them.”
A butcher, Ghufran, remembers how seven months ago three men had barged into his shop and shot him in the leg. “No one was willing to step forward except Nasir,” he remembers. “While two men ran away, Nasir grabbed the gun of the third one and handed him over to the police.”
Nasir’s mother told The Express Tribune that around 13 years ago, Nasir’s father was run over by a truck driver. He spent 1.5 months tracking the man down and was satisfied only when the police finally caught him. “After his father’s death, he couldn’t see any injustice happening to anyone,” says Fatima, sitting in a barely furnished room in her house near Chandni Chowk. “He would not let anyone suffer.”
Since then, Nasir had gathered quite a reputation for catching thieves in the area. To date he had helped the police catch 35 criminals from Nazimabad.
At home, Nasir would tell his children stories about catching criminals. Even if he was out with them he couldn’t stop himself from chasing them. “Once he took me for shopping to Hyderi and then suddenly left me saying that he would be back in a minute,” shares his wife, Tasneem.
“When he came back we found out that he had gone to tell the police about two suspects.”
Gabol Town SHO Shaur, who was posted for seven months at the Paposh Nagar police station, said that during his time the thief grabber informed him about suspected robbers several times. “All his suspicions turned out to be true,” he says. “God knows how he knew who were criminals.”
Although Nasir helped the police to catch criminals he was not an ‘informant’. He would go after the men himself and then hand them over to the police. “We would never tell anyone that Nasir helped us,” says Shaur.
Another one of Nasir’s friends, Athar Hussain, who works as a photojournalist, said that he loved to read crime stories. “Once he captured three muggers outside a bank. He lunged at a man who was roughly thrice his weight. He would not stop,” he says.
However, it seems that for once Nasir’s love for adventure cost him too much. His wife, Tasneem, is torn between pride and bitterness. “Everyone stopped him from going after criminals,” she says. “But he never listened. I am proud of all the things my husband did but I am devastated that he was killed for being a savior.”
Published in The Express Tribune, May 14th, 2012.
Auto electrician Mohammad Nasir had a knack for catching thieves. His sixth sense betrayed him only once and after that he did not get a second chance because he died.
Around a fortnight ago, two motorcyclists shot the local hero dead before he could pounce on them.
Nasir used to own a motorcycle repair shop on the same street as Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. The 45-year-old man had become a local hero for his ability to identify suspicious activities in the area. His last catch was of two robbers near a school in Paposh. One of the men, who had absconded from police custody, had vowed to come after him.
“There was no one like Nasir Bhai,” says Haider, who is also a mechanic. “The people would run away from the robbers but he would always chase them.”
A butcher, Ghufran, remembers how seven months ago three men had barged into his shop and shot him in the leg. “No one was willing to step forward except Nasir,” he remembers. “While two men ran away, Nasir grabbed the gun of the third one and handed him over to the police.”
Nasir’s mother told The Express Tribune that around 13 years ago, Nasir’s father was run over by a truck driver. He spent 1.5 months tracking the man down and was satisfied only when the police finally caught him. “After his father’s death, he couldn’t see any injustice happening to anyone,” says Fatima, sitting in a barely furnished room in her house near Chandni Chowk. “He would not let anyone suffer.”
Since then, Nasir had gathered quite a reputation for catching thieves in the area. To date he had helped the police catch 35 criminals from Nazimabad.
At home, Nasir would tell his children stories about catching criminals. Even if he was out with them he couldn’t stop himself from chasing them. “Once he took me for shopping to Hyderi and then suddenly left me saying that he would be back in a minute,” shares his wife, Tasneem.
“When he came back we found out that he had gone to tell the police about two suspects.”
Gabol Town SHO Shaur, who was posted for seven months at the Paposh Nagar police station, said that during his time the thief grabber informed him about suspected robbers several times. “All his suspicions turned out to be true,” he says. “God knows how he knew who were criminals.”
Although Nasir helped the police to catch criminals he was not an ‘informant’. He would go after the men himself and then hand them over to the police. “We would never tell anyone that Nasir helped us,” says Shaur.
Another one of Nasir’s friends, Athar Hussain, who works as a photojournalist, said that he loved to read crime stories. “Once he captured three muggers outside a bank. He lunged at a man who was roughly thrice his weight. He would not stop,” he says.
However, it seems that for once Nasir’s love for adventure cost him too much. His wife, Tasneem, is torn between pride and bitterness. “Everyone stopped him from going after criminals,” she says. “But he never listened. I am proud of all the things my husband did but I am devastated that he was killed for being a savior.”
Published in The Express Tribune, May 14th, 2012.