Young man, businessman shot dead by robbers in separate Karachi crime incidents
A 20-year-old young man and a businessman were shot dead by alleged robbers in two separate incidents in Karachi’s Korangi and Defence Housing Authority (DHA), police said.
The incidents are two of many recent criminal shootings in the city.
Zaman Town Station House Officer (SHO) Malik Ashraf Awan told Dawn.com that the young man, Abdul Basit, was shot and killed after resisting a robbery near Nasir Jump.
The robbers snatched his cell phone and other valuables and shot him after he tried resisting, Awan said.
SHO Awan said the suspects also looted two other citizens and snatched a cell phone from them in the vicinity of the same locality. He added that as the victims resisted, locals came to their aid and captured both suspects, subjecting them to a severe beating.
He said the mob also shot the suspects before the police arrived who subsequently took the suspects into custody and moved them to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).
The deceased was identified as Arshad while the injured as Yaseen Babu Chandio, the SHO said.
After the incident, newly-appointed Korangi Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Tauheed Rehman Memon carried out surprise visits to areas of Korangi, according to a statement from the police.
He said the young man’s murder was regrettable and added that both suspects involved in the incident were arrested with one later dying while the other was in critical condition.
Memon said an “aggressive” strategy was adopted by the police to control street crimes.
He said that the Shaheen Force was deployed while checking was ongoing in the “hot spots”. The SSP said almost all police mobiles were on roads to control crimes.
He said people’s movement tended to increase at night on the Korangi causeway, therefore, policemen were deployed there to perform their duty round the clock to prevent crimes.
Separately, South Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Syed Asad Raza told Dawn.com that an industrialist was gunned down by robbers in DHA Phase II after they chased him following a cash withdrawal in Boat Basin.
He said four suspects on two motorcycles chased Asif Salman Balwani, 65, from Boat Basin to his house in Phase II after he withdrew Rs1 million.
The DIG added that as he neared his residence near 11th Street, the robbers indicated to him to stop the car, which Balwani did not oblige. Subsequently, they fired two shots, one of which hit him from behind and Balwani lost control of the car, crashing into a K-Electric crane, Raza said.
He added that upon hearing the gunshots, the guards of Sindh MPA Imtiaz Shaikh, whose residence is located in the same area, opened fire but the suspects fled without taking any loot.
According to Raza, Balwani received a single bullet shot to his back which travelled and pierced his heart, proving fatal. The body was shifted to JPMC for legal formalities while the cash and mobile phone were handed over to the family, Raza said.
The DIG said the crime scene unit collected the spent bullets from the crime scene, adding that camera footage was being taken from the site of the incident and the Boat Basin bank branch while geo-fencing was also being conducted.
Contingents of the police rushed to the spot after receiving information about the incident, he said, adding that the police were treating the incident as “robbery with murder”.
Raza said Balwani was the owner of Textile Lee embroidery.
Recent reports indicate a significant surge in street crime in Karachi, with daily occurrences of theft and violence.
Last week, a 27-year-old gold medalist mechanical engineer and Hafiz Quran was killed by gunmen who took away his motorcycle, cell phone and other valuables. Police subsequently launched an investigation into the murder.
An enraged mob lynched a suspected robber in Orangi Town while police saved his accomplice from being killed last month. Separately, another young man was shot dead in Azizabad in early May.