Bandits posing as passengers rob van coming from Hyderabad

Passengers coming from Hyderabad to Karachi in a van were robbed near the New Sabzi Mandi on the Super Highway within the limits of Site Superhighway Industrial Area police station.

The robbers employed a unique method, disguising themselves as passengers from Hyderabad. They forced all the 18 van passengers at gunpoint to hand over their valuables. Two suspects sat on the front seat while one sat at the back. As soon as the van reached Karachi near the Jamali flyover, they threatened the driver, Muhammad Asif, at gunpoint and told him to get off M9 and go to a slum. After looting the passengers, they made them get off and fled with the van, which was later found abandoned near Sohrab Goth’s Machar Colony.

Police registered a case at the Site Superhighway Industrial Area police station against unknown robbers on the complaint of Municipal Officer Rashid Ali. “I was coming to Karachi from Hyderabad in the van to participate in a friend’s function,” he said, adding that that there were 17 to 18 passengers in the van. On the way, a passenger got off the van. “When our van reached near the Sabzi Mandi, two culprits sitting with the driver suddenly pulled out pistols,” he recounted.

One culprit removed the driver from the seat and the other armed person started driving the vehicle. The third accomplice sitting on the last seat also pulled out a weapon. One suspect kept driving the vehicle while the other two robbed the passengers. “The culprits snatched my mobile phone and Rs10,000 from me,” Ali said. He further said that all three culprits were wearing shirts and trousers, adding that one was old while the other two were young.