Two more killed by muggers

Despite repeated assurances by the police that street criminals will be brought to book, street crime in Karachi continues unabated with robbers seemingly operating with impunity across the city.

In the latest incidents, two citizens were shot dead by robbers in separate parts of the city, bringing the number of citizens killed while resisting robberies this year to at least 44. Meanwhile, two police constables were injured in an encounter with robbers.

The most recent case was reported from Korangi, where a young man lost his life on Monday after being shot by robbers for offering resistance. Earlier, a robbery at a juice center in Orangi Town turned deadly. In that incident, the shop employee was killed, while one of the robbers was also reportedly shot dead when the shop owner returned fire.

The man killed in Korangi was identified as 30-year-old Faisal Mehmood, son of Noorul Absar. He was gunned down near the government school in Korangi No 3 1/2. The body was shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.

According to a spokesperson for the Karachi police, the man was shot for offering resistance during a mugging bid. No case had been registered till the filing of this news story.

Earlier, on the night between Sunday and Monday, a deadly robbery took place at a beverage shop in Orangi Town Sector 13 near Disco Morr, within the jurisdiction of the Pakistan Bazaar police station.

According to police, two robbers entered the juice shop with the intent to rob it. When an employee resisted, the suspects opened fire on him, critically injuring him. He was rushed to a hospital but succumbed to his injuries during treatment.

The victim was identified as 20-year-old Abid, son of Irshad. The firing resulted in chaos at the shop. One of therobbers managed to flee, but the other was shot dead reportedly by the shop owner.

Police arrived at the scene shortly after the incident and launched an investigation to apprehend the fleeing suspect. In a separate incident in Surjani Town’s Kaneez Fatima Society, a police encounter with armed robbers resulted in injuries to two constables, identified as Farooq and Safdar.

According to officials, the robbers opened fire during the encounter, injuring the cops. They managed to flee the scene. The injured policemen were transported to a private hospital on National Stadium Road for treatment.