Street criminals, who have been freely operating in the city without any fear of the law, have claimed the life of another young individual.
This time, a teenage boy from Rajanpur, who worked as a mason, lost his life at the hands of ruthless robbers in the Korangi area. The criminals also reportedly robbed around three houses in the area before taking this young man’s life.
In 2024, street crime claimed the lives of 106 people, while in just the first 15 days of 2025, three individuals have already lost their lives to street criminals.
The latest incident took place in Korangi Sector 51-C, within the jurisdiction of the Zaman Town police station, where street criminals shot and killed 17-year-old Muzaffar Iqbal.
The teenager’s only fault was that he encountered the street criminal gang while he was returning home after offering the Fajr prayers.
When the criminals attempted to rob him, he reportedly cried out for help. In response, the criminals opened fire. A bullet that struck his head killed him on the spot.
The perpetrators managed to flee the scene.
Muzaffar has left behind four sisters and a brother.
According to police, the robbers were fleeing after committing a burglary in the house of Iqbal’s neighbour when they encountered the victim. There are also reports that before robbing the house of the victim's neighbour, the culprits had robbed two more houses in the same area.
To gain entry into those houses, the robbers posed as police officers.
Residents highlighted the increasing crime rate in the area, stating that they now even feared stepping out for prayers.
Muzaffar’s family and community members urged the authorities to arrest the perpetrators and provide justice.
Korangi SSP Kamran Khan has taken notice of the incident, suspending Zaman Town SHO Rizwan Qureshi and a police post in-charge, Noman. Police investigators have also collected evidence from the scene.
The suspended SHO told The News that a man named Zahid had called the police helpline 15 Madadgar at 6:45am, reporting that three houses in the area, including his own, had been robbed. Upon receiving the call, the police arrived at the scene.
Zahid informed police that around six individuals were involved in the robbery, with three of them wearing Malaysian-style shalwar kameez while the other three wore pants and shirts. The robbers locked Zahid and his family in a room before stealing cash, jewellery and mobile phones from their home.
Zahid stated that apart from his house, two additional homes in the locality had also been robbed. However, police claimed that in their initial investigations, they found no other house robbery in the area.
When police asked Zahid to provide the boxes of the stolen mobile phones so they could be traced, Zahid claimed that the robbers had taken the boxes with them. He also mentioned that the murder of Muzaffar occurred approximately eight to 10 minutes after the robbers had left his house.
The suspended SHO noted that there were inconsistencies in Zahid's statements. He added that since he had been suspended, the new SHO would now handle the case to properly ascertain the circumstances and events.
He remarked that it was still unclear who killed Muzaffar. He questioned whether the house robbery even took place as it had been described.
On Zahid’s account that the robbers killed Muzaffar eight to 10 minutes after leaving his house, the suspended SHO asked what the robbers had been doing during that time and why it took them so long to flee.
He also pointed out that when Muzaffar was killed, no one else was present at the scene. He added that Muzaffar’s house was approximately 15 houses away from Zahid’s, and Muzaffar was killed about 25 steps away from his own home.
Qureshi concluded that it was difficult to determine at this point whether Muzaffar was killed by the robbers. It is premature to say what actually happened, he remarked.
Meanwhile, Atiqur Rehman was posted as the Zaman Town SHO and head constable Kamran Abbasi as the Tasveer Mahel police post in-charge.
After Muzaffar’s killing, the toll of killings during street crime in Karachi has reached three in just first 15 days of 2025.
Earlier on January 9, a person, Arif, was killed for offering resistance during a robbery bid in Steel Town’s Ghaghar Phatak area, whereas, Sahil Masih was shot and killed by robbers during a robbery attempt in Zaman Town on January 4.
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