Another citizen falls prey to muggers

A 40-year-old man was shot dead when he put up resistance to two robbers in Gulshan-e-Iqbal on Monday.

Saeed Ahmed, son of Ikhlaq Ahmed, was on his way on a motorbike when two men, also riding a motorcycle, intercepted him at gunpoint at Nipa Chowrangi, said Gulshan-e-Iqbal Division SP Ghulam Murtaza Bhutto.

An eyewitness told police that the gunmen demanded Ahmed’s cellphone, and on his refusal, one of them shot him in the belly. The robbers then rode away. SP Bhutto said the injured man was taken to hospital, where he died. The victim was a resident of Saadi Town.

Ahmed becomes one of hundreds of victims who have been killed by muggers for resisting their snatching attempts across Karachi in recent years. According the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC), 26 four-wheelers were snatched and 10 cars stolen in January this year, and in January last year 20 four-wheelers had been snatched and 123 cars stolen.

The CPLC statistics show that 209 two-wheelers were snatched and 1,863 motorbikes stolen in January 2018, and in the same month last year 121 two-wheelers had been snatched and 1,727 motorbikes stolen in January 2017.

The stats further show that 1,257 mobile phones were snatched and another 1,500 cellphones stolen in January this year. In the corresponding period last year, 1,181 mobile phones were snatched and another 1,441 stolen.