Woman among eight people killed by robbers in first 15 days of Ramazan

In Karachi police have completely failed to end the reign of dacoits in the city. Continuous brazen incidents of dacoity and robbery have subjected citizens to severe distress and fear.

In the holy month of Ramazan, during the first 15 days, more than 3,000 incidents of street crime were reported, with eight people, including women, brutally killed and many others injured. This failure of the police reflects their negligence and incompetence.

According to police sources, in the first three months of the current year, 46 citizens have lost their lives in dacoity-related incidents. Even during the sacred month of Ramazan, peace and tranquility eluded the citizens, as dacoits wreaked havoc by targeting multiple households.

On the 3rd of Ramazan, near Malir Cantonment, robbers murdered a milk seller named Jameel, while on the 5th of Ramazan they took the life of Farhan in Essa Nagri. Also, Muhammad Farhan who was injured in a robbery incident in the Pakistan Bazaar area succumbed to his wounds on the same day.

On the 10th of Ramazan, Akhtar Masih in Orangi Town became a victim of dacoits’ bullets, while Engineer Shoaib Shafqat was fatally shot during a robbery in Malir Cantonment. On the 13th of Ramazan, Abdul Rahman was killed in North Karachi, and on the 14th of Ramazan, Zuhaib was murdered in Surjani Town over a mobile phone. Furthermore, during a dacoity in Orangi Town, a woman lost her life due to dacoits’ firing on March 26.

It was reported that two robbers had snatched a mobile phone from a citizen and were fleeing the scene when the public raised an alarm. Subsequently, police officers chased them near the Qatar Hospital, where the robbers directly fired at the police, injuring a couple who had come to the hospital for their relative’s treatment.

The continuous and frequent incidents of dacoity and robbery have left the residents of Karachi in a state of extreme fear and disappointment. Citizens express extreme disillusionment with the performance of the police, attributing the increase in crime to the appointments of incompetent and corrupt station house officers (SHOs) to various police stations.

They assert that the rise in street crime and other offenses is primarily due to the corrupt and inept SHOs’ appointments, while drug trafficking, gambling dens, and encroachments on both private and government lands have become rampant under the police’s nose.

On the other hand, police claimed to have killed four suspected street criminals and arrested over 130 suspects, including 89 in injured state, during encounters during the initial 15 days of Ramazan.

Given the situation, the SHO (station house officer) test-passing system has been activated for appointments to the police stations of the city. The police chief has formed a committee regarding tests and interviews for the deployment of SHOs. It has been decided that officers with good reputations will be included in the SHO pool.