‘58 people killed in Karachi during robberies until August this year’

In a media talk at his office on Wednesday, Karachi’s police chief said that until August this year, 333 people were killed in personal disputes and 58 during robberies and other street crime incidents, while 269 were injured over showing resistance during robberies and other street crime incidents.

Additional Inspector General of Police (Addl IGP) Jawed Alam Odho also informed the media about the establishment of the Shaheen Force to curb the menace of street crime in the city. The briefing was also attended by the chiefs of all the three zones of the Karachi Range.

Addl IGP Odho said that until August this year, the police also gunned down 73 notorious dacoits as well as arrested 698 other outlaws with injuries. He told the media that the purpose of calling the press briefing was to inform everyone about the forming of a new force in the Karachi police to curb the menace of street crime as well as the strategies and operations adopted to restore peace in the city.

He said the Shaheen Force comprises 300 officials, all of whom will be equipped with modern weapons and equipment. The new force will protect the residents of the city and take timely action, he added.

The police chief said the officials would be deployed in those areas where the number of reported street crime cases was high, adding that they have identified the spots where most of the street crime cases were reported, so Shaheen Force officials would patrol those hot spots.

Odho said Shaheen Force officials will be equipped with bulletproof vests, reflective jackets, modern high-tech weapons and walkie-talkies so they can immediately take action on the information received about any crime.

Comparing the street crime statistics of this year’s first eight months to that of last year’s, he said that 58 people were killed and 269 injured in 2022, while 54 people were killed and 325 injured in 2021.

Meanwhile, the data on street crime compiled by the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee claims that such incidents have decreased by 36.5 per cent over the past two weeks. As for house robberies, the police chief claimed that such incidents have also decreased, as 395 such cases were reported last year, but this year, the number of cases reported stands at 303.

He said that during 2022, the police had shoot-outs with outlaws 598 times, during which they killed 73 bandits, arrested 698 with injuries and recovered 4,464 weapons of different calibres.

He added that the police also registered 4,614 cases under the narcotics law, arrested 5,912 drug peddlers, and recovered 65 kilograms of heroin, 7.797 tonnes of hashish, 31kg of ice, 18kg of crystal and 1.268 tonnes of opium.