KARACHI, July 12: A Dawn staffer was deprived of his cellular phone and cash late Saturday night by unidentified motorcyclists near the Schon Crossing in Clifton.

Mushtaq Memon, senior sub-editor, was going to his residence after finishing his duty at around 10:30pm when a motorcycle hit his car from behind near the Shell petrol pump between Teen Talwar and the Schon Crossing.

According to the journalist, the motorcyclists had accused him of damaging their bike before snatching his car keys, Rs300 and cellular phone. Later, they had rode away.

One of the motorcyclists introduced himself as an auto parts dealer when he and his associates surrounded Mr Memon’s car. He also handed him a business card before they snatched the newsman’s belongings.

The business card reads: “New Fine Autos, auto parts and lubricants, plot No. 36, opposite Fatima Jinnah Girls College, near Zoological Garden, Nishtar Road.

In an another incident, a 15-seater van of Dawn was chased and hit from rear by a white-colour Nissan Sunny (diesel) in Gulshan-i-Iqbal.

The van’s driver said he had been chased by a white car after he had dropped a staffer in the Journalist Colony, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, at around 11:10pm as he was heading towards Abul Hasan Isphani Road.

“The chasing car also hit the van near Abbas Town”, he said.

He said that the chasing car overtook his van and stopped a little distance ahead. The van’s driver said that a man clad in white-coloured shalwar-kameez had gotten down from the car, signalling him to stop, adding that he did not stop and sped towards Water Pump.

Earlier, on Friday afternoon another senior reporter, Shamimur Rahman was deprived of his cellular phone and Rs22,000 at gunpoint by two unidentified persons near the Alpha Hotel in Saddar.