Street crime continued unabated in Karachi on Wednesday when a paramilitary soldier and three other men were wounded during mugging bids by robbers in various parts of the city.
A paramilitary soldier and another man were shot and injured by robbers at Gulistan-e-Jauhar’s Munawar Chowrangi in the evening. Gulshan-e-Iqbal Division SP Ghulam Murtaza Bhutto told The News that Inspector Zahir Shah, Sub Inspector Ashiq and Naik Rasheed of the Sindh Rangers were travelling in plainclothes in a Hiace van bearing registration number 918615 when they saw two men looting people.
He said the soldiers tried to engage the robbers, but the suspects saw an SMG in the hands of one of the law enforcers and opened fire on the vehicle, injuring Naik Rasheed and a passer-by, identified as Mukhtiar. The robbers managed to escape from crime scene.
SP Bhutto said the casualties were taken to Liaquat National Hospital, where doctors declared the condition of the soldier precarious. Later, the Sindh Rangers secretariat issued a statement, which said Naik Rasheed was shot and injured along with another man by muggers in Gulistan-e-Jauhar.
According to the spokesman for the paramilitary force, a search for the suspects was going on with the help of police and in view of the evidence collected from the scene. Sindh Home Minister Sohail Anwar Khan Siyal and Inspector General of Police (IGP) AD Khowaja took notice of the incident and sought a report from the deputy inspector general of police and the senior superintendent of police of East respectively.
Separately, a 28-year-old man was shot and injured by robbers for resisting their attempt to snatch his mobile phone in Orangi Town.
The Iqbal Market police station’s SHO, Abdul Waheed, said the incident took place in Raees Amrohi Colony, Orangi Town’s Sector 11 ½, where robbers shot and injured Zubair, son of Anwar. He said the victim was taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where doctors pronounced him safe after performing surgery on his wound.
Two robbers killed
A robber was shot dead by a brother of an injured man at Light House late on Tuesday night. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sheeraz Nazeer told The News that two men arrived at a grocery shop in Kharadar’s Nanak Wara area and told two brothers to hand over cash at gunpoint.
When one of the brothers put up resistance, the robbers shot and injured him. His brother, who had a gun on him, opened fire on the suspects, but they managed to flee from the scene. The brother of the injured man kept chasing the suspects on a motorbike of a friend, and found them near Light House. He shot the robbers in the back and injured both of them, but one of them still managed to flee.
The man then caught the other robber and shot him once in the abdomen. A patrolling party of the Risala police station reached the sport and shifted the injured suspect to Civil Hospital Karachi, where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.
The suspect was identified as Muhammad Akhtar, 39, son of Rehmat Ali. He was said to be a resident of the Lyari area’s of Nawa Lane. In the afternoon, a robber was shot dead by a man in the Korangi district’s Allah Wala Town.
Korangi SSP Zulfiqar Mehar told The News that an eyewitness told police that suspects, after looting milk shops, signalled to the driver of a car to pull over, but he opened fire on them and sped away.
SSP Mehar said one of the robbers suffered bullet wounds and fell down, and his companion managed to escape from the scene. He added that public present on the scene beat up the injured robber, but a police party arrived and rescued him. The man was being taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) when he died from excessive bleeding.
SSP Mehar said police had seized a TT pistol and four snatched cellphones from the possession of the suspect, and upon verification of the mobile phone data contacted their owners. He added that police also traced the man, who shot and injured the suspect, and told him to record his statement.
Rise in street crime
Street crime has become a mega issue of the city despite the fact that law enforcers have brought down incidents of target killings, terrorism, extortion and kidnappings for ransom over the past four years of a targeted operation.
On Wednesday, the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) released statistics for the month of March 2018, and according to the data, 27 four-wheelers were snatched and 103 cars were stolen last month, while 14 four-wheelers were snatched and 90 cars had been stolen in March 2017.
The statistics show that 196 two-wheelers were snatched and 1,884 motorbikes were stolen last month, as compared to 198 two-wheelers snatched and 1,892 motorbikes stolen in the same month last year.
The figures further show that 1,036 mobile phones were snatched and another 1,440 were stolen in March this year, while 1,079 mobile phones were snatched and 1,357 cell-phones were stolen in the same month last year.
Fourteen four-wheelers were snatched and 87 cars were stolen in February this year, while 16 four-wheelers were snatched and 95 cars were stolen in February 2017. The statistics show that 180 two-wheelers were snatched and 1,772 motorbikes were stolen in February 2018, while 134 two-wheelers were snatched and 1,662 motorbikes were stolen in February last year.
The CPCL says that 1,103 mobile phones were snatched and another 1,479 were stolen in February this year, while 1,018 mobile phones were snatched and 1,311 were stolen in the same month last year.
Also, 26 four-wheelers were snatched and 10 cars were stolen in January this year, while 20 four-wheelers were snatched and 123 cars were stolen in January 2017. According to the statistics, 209 two-wheelers were snatched and 1863 motorbikes were stolen in January 2018, while 121 two-wheelers were snatched and 1,727 motorbikes were stolen in January 2017.
As many as 1,257 mobile phones were snatched and 1,500 were stolen in January this year, while 1,181 mobile phones were snatched and 1,441 were stolen in the same month last year.