Vigilante justice: Robber beaten to death, another slain in shoot-out

KARACHI:

Two robbers were killed and two people were wounded in separate incidents of ‘vigilante justice’ on Sunday.

In the first incident, angry residents of Surjani Town badly beat up two robbers as a result of which, one died during treatment at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital while another was admitted to the hospital with critical injuries.

The two robbers were apprehended by the residents while trying to escape after robbing a house in Block-L, Surjani Town. Residents gathered at the spot when they heard screaming and managed to catch the two robbers.  Police officials said that the mob beat up the robbers using whatever object they could lay their hands on. Surjani police official, Khan Mohammad, said that after receiving information of the incident, police reached the site and rescued both the alleged robbers and shifted them to the hospital where one of them, identified as Imam Buksh, 30, died during treatment while another, Sher Khan was admitted with critical injuries. The officer said that two pistols were seized from their possession. He added that a case would be registered against the crowd for taking the law into their own hands.

Separately, an alleged robber was killed and his companion was wounded when they were allegedly trying to loot four men travelling in their car in Memon Goth. SHO Rao Khalid said that the people were heading towards their farm in Memon Goth when two armed robbers tried to intercept their vehicle and resorted to indiscriminate firing. As a result of the firing, one of the men in the car, Waqas, was wounded. In retaliation, another person in the car, Fahad, opened fire at the robbers, killing one on the spot and injuring the other. Fahad was licensed to carry his firearm, the police said. They added both the robbers have yet to be identified while two pistols were seized from their possession.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 26^th, 2013.