On the lookout: Activists ask security companies to do something about their guards

Father seeks justice for daughter who was shot outside employer's house.

KARACHI:

Lawyers and social activists called for action on Monday against security companies whose guards were involved in criminal activities in the city.

"Companies are employing these men as guards without obtaining their personal details or investigating them," said a lawyer, Liaquat Ali Khan, while addressing a press conference at Karachi Press Club on Monday. "They should be held responsible for their actions."

Khan discussed a case where the domestic staff was allegedly shot by a security guard in Gulberg in March.

The woman's father, Mitho Khan, was also present at the press club and became emotional when the lawyer was narrating the incident. He said that he wanted justice. "I want that guard to get arrested," he said. "Who gave him the right to kill my daughter?"

According to Mitho, his daughter was on her way to the house where she worked as a member of the domestic staff. She was stopped by a guard who was on duty outside the residence.

"She did not know the man and an eye-witness claims that he was harassing her," he said. "She resisted and he shot her." An FIR was registered at the Gulberg police station but the family said that the police had not arrested any suspect as yet. The lawyer claimed that the private security company where the guard worked was functioning on an expired licence. "We also learnt that the guard had submitted a false identity card to the company," he said. "In many of the recent incidents, guards have been found to be involved in bank robberies." He added that the hiring policies of these companies should be monitored.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2014.