A suspected robber was lynched by an enraged mob in Karachi’s Ittehad Town on Wednesday, according to officials. Station House Officer (SHO) Rao Shabbir reported that the suspect, armed with a pistol, attempted to rob a citizen near Babu Chowk in Qaimkhani Colony.
The citizen resisted and was quickly joined by bystanders who overpowered the suspect. The mob then severely beat him with blunt instruments, resulting in his death at the scene, SHO Shabbir said.
The suspect’s body was transported to Civil Hospital Karachi, but his identity has yet to be determined. The police recovered a pistol and ammunition from the scene, SHO Shabbir added.
Karachi has seen a notable increase in street crime, with frequent reports of theft and violence. On Sunday, police initiated an investigation into the murder of a young man in Gulshan-i-Iqbal, who was shot by robbers the previous day. The victim, Itteqa Moeen, a 27-year-old gold medalist mechanical engineer and Hafiz Quran, was killed by gunmen who stole his motorcycle, cell phone, and other valuables.
This incident has fueled demands from opposition parties for a major crackdown on criminals in Karachi and an end to the “politicization of police” to restore law and order.
In other recent incidents, a 20-year-old man and a businessman were fatally shot by alleged robbers in Karachi’s Korangi and Defence Housing Authority (DHA) areas. Last month, a mob in Orangi Town lynched another suspected robber while police saved his accomplice from a similar fate. Additionally, a young man was shot dead in Azizabad in early May.
