Street crime claims yet another life in Karachi

• Armed robbers killed Itteqa in Gulshan-e-Iqbal block 7 area.
• Suspects fled with deceased's motorcycle, mobile phone, wallet.
• Karachi police orders departmental inquiry over incident.

KARACHI: The city's police have suspended Gulshan-e-Iqbal's station house officer (SHO) for poor performance after yet another a young man was killed in street crime incident on Saturday.

The incident took place in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Block 7 when the man, Itteqa Mooen Khan, a 27-year-old mechanical engineer, was approached by armed robbers near his house while he was on his way back from a nearby bakery.

The suspects shot and killed the youngster and fled with his motorcycle, mobile phone, and wallet.

A case has been registered under the provisions of robbery and murder at the Gulshan-e-Iqbal Police Station on the complaint of the victim's brother.

Meanwhile, the police have also found a shell of a 9-millimetre pistol from the scene of the incident, which has been sent for forensics.

However, the spokesperson for East Police has said that a departmental inquiry has been ordered over the incident.

According to The News, police have confirmed that the incident took place during a robbery bid and that two suspects on a motorcycle were responsible for the firing and managed to escape following the incident.

Police said they were trying to obtain CCTV footage to help trace the suspects. No case had been registered when this story was filed.

The development comes as the city, also the country's financial hub, has witnessed a significant rise in street crime incidents in recent months with 71 people losing their lives at the hands of criminals in 2024 so far.

Despite as many as 6,000 criminals being transferred to Karachi Central Jail in the first five months of the ongoing year, the law and order situation in the metropolis continues to deteriorate with citizens being looted and killed by street criminals.

Last month, President Asif Ali Zardari, while chairing a special meeting over the law and order situation in Sindh, directed  Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to launch a large-scale operation against street criminals in Karachi.

The president ordered authorities concerned to complete the Karachi Safe City project "on a war footing" to eliminate street crimes and other illegal activities affecting the law and order situation in the port city.