Street crime on rise in Karachi

From Zeeshan Mirza

KARACHI: Street criminals claim yet another life in Defense area of Karachi.
According to the rescue sources, a man was shot dead during a robbery attempt on Defense’s 26th Street.
Eyewitnesses reported that the victim, identified as Muhammad Saeed, had withdrawn cash and was standing aside after noticing someone approaching.
The assailants, riding a motorcycle attempted to rob him, the deceased however opted to resist, as a result, the robbers fired 4-5 shots as they fled the scene of the crime. A total number of 105 people have fallen victim to the rampant street crime in Karachi this year.
Similarly, on 24 Oct a man was gunned down by robbers during a mugging incident in the Ahsanabad area near the Site Superhighway.
The victim was returning home after selling his wife’s jewellery to finance his daughter’s treatment. He received three bullets by the muggers who robbed him on the way. The robbers escaped after committing crime.
According to a report released by Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) in Aug Karachi witnessed a surge in street crime, with 5,960 incidents reported in the month alone.
The city saw a rise in street crime, including vehicle theft, with 23 cars stolen at gunpoint and 150 cars stolen.
Report stated that the motorcycles were also a target, with 656 stolen and 3385 reported stolen from various areas of the city. Furthermore, robbers snatched 1737 mobile phones from citizens, while 3 cases of kidnapping for ransom and 6 cases of extortion were also reported.