No respite from street crime as two more dead, three wounded

Street crime continued to plague Karachi on Monday, when two more people were killed and three others were injured during attempts to rob them in different parts of the city.

Moreover, an elderly man who was visiting Pakistan after 40 years to attend a wedding in Karachi succumbed to his wounds at a hospital seven days after he was shot by vehicle snatchers in Korangi.

Teenager killed

In Landhi’s Sector 36-B, a college student was gunned down over witnessing a mugging. He was shot once in the neck and was taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

He was identified as Usman Saleem, 19, a resident of Korangi’s Zamanabad area and a first-year student. His friend said he was getting ready for college when he heard the gunshot. “I rushed to the gate of the house and saw Usman lying in a pool of blood.”

The friend said the suspects had been snatching a mobile phone from someone when Usman saw them, prompting the muggers to shoot him, adding that Usman had tried to flee, but the robbers chased and shot him. “He continued trying to flee despite being wounded but fell down on the road.”

The family of the deceased condemned the incident, and criticised the government and the police. “Citizens are left at the mercy of street criminals. No one is safe outside or even inside their houses,” the victim’s uncle told the media, demanding immediate arrests of the culprits.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Khurrum Sher Zaman also condemned the incident, and offered his condolences to the aggrieved family. He said Karachi’s people are dying while Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is on a long march. “Karachi has witnessed a major increase in street crime recently, while the Sindh government seems to have failed to control the law and order situation.”

The PTI’s Haleem Adil Sheikh, who is also the provincial assembly opposition leader, told the media at the hospital that citizens are being killed in broad daylight during street crime while the police are busy hoisting flags and setting up camps.

“This boy’s only fault was that he witnessed someone committing street crime in the street,” he said. Police said the robbers were fleeing after looting Rs18,000 from a citizen when they shot Usman.

Cash van robbery

An employee of an online store was killed and two security guards were wounded for resisting a robbery near Godown Chowrangi in the Korangi Industrial Area.

Police said robbers in a car intercepted a cash van, adding that the security guard in the van did not fire on them initially, but the suspects opened fire on the van’s occupants, killing an employee and injuring two security guards.

The casualties were taken to the JPMC, where the deceased employee was identified as Ashok, 40, and the injured guards as Mehboob Sharif and Wazir Pir.

Police said the robbers had intercepted the van with the intention to loot cash, adding that the CCTV camera footage of the incident showing the suspects in a Corolla had been acquired.

The footage shows the car approaching and intercepting the van before the robbers got out of their vehicle. The security guards can also be seen exchanging gunfire with the suspects before being shot and falling. One of the robbers appeared to be wearing clothes similar to a police uniform.

Due to the shoot-out, the robbers failed to loot the cash van and escaped in their car. Korangi SSP Faisal Bashir Memon said that an attempt was made by the suspects to rob the van, adding that they had been in a Corolla.

Moreover, Syed Sajid Ali, 31, was wounded after he offered resistance during a mugging bid in Surjani Town. He was taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH).

Last breath

Ali Bin Umer, 60, who had been injured for resisting a vehicle snatching bid on February 21, succumbed to his wounded at the JPMC on Monday.

“He had returned to Pakistan from Dubai after 40 years to attend his son’s wedding in Karachi,” said a family member, “but our celebrations were turned into mourning.” Umer had left the house to distribute invitation cards for the wedding scheduled for February 25, but he had been shot by the robbers. His funeral was conducted on Monday.

Clarification

Sir Syed SHO Chaudhry Zahid on Monday clarified that Nabeel Khan, 22, who was reported as being killed on his doorstep in North Karachi a day earlier, remained admitted at the hospital, where doctors were trying to save his life.

The officer said doctors at ASH had given him the wrong information, following which he had conveyed the same information to the media and told them that Khan had died during an attempted robbery.