More than 50,000 incidents of street crime have been reported in Karachi during the first eight months of 2021, the police officials said despite tall claims of curbing such incidents.
According to police, most of the street crime incidents involved motorcycle snatching, followed by mobile snatching and four-wheeler snatching incidents.
During eight months of 2021, the citizens in the most populous city of the country were deprived of 34,181 motorcycles, 14,578 mobile phones, and 1,268 four-wheeler vehicles during the ongoing year.
The officials said that 54 people lost their lives while 458 people sustained injuries during the street crime incidents in the city.
Previously, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah was told during a law and order meeting that street crimes have seen a 30 percent decline in August.
The chief minister was briefed that street crime has witnessed a 30 percent decline during 10 days from August 11. To this, the chief minister said he wanted complete elimination of the street crimes.
It was further informed during the meeting that two policemen were arrested for their alleged involvement in short-term kidnapping incidents.
“Both of them have been arrested,” the AIG Karachi said as the chief minister directed him to award them exemplary punishment.
Murad Ali Shah also directed the AIG to keep an eye on police officials using such personnel after it was briefed that the arrested cops served at the private offices of the police officials.
In some neighbourhoods, street crime has become so regular a feature that it started testing patience of the area people.
Only a few days ago, in Orangi Town an armed mugging attempt led to the killing of a young man and enraged residents, who blamed the police for failing to establish its writ in the densely populated neighbourhood and took to the street to register a protest.
They said four armed men riding two motorbikes snatched cash and valuables from an elderly person, later identified as Qutubuddin, and when he tried to overpower one of them and shouted for help the muggers thrashed him badly and fired multiple shots randomly to keep onlookers people away.
