KARACHI, July 2: An alleged robber was lynched and his “accomplice” badly beaten by an angry mob in Shadman Town in the early hours of Saturday after “their attempt to snatch a car failed”, police and witnesses said.

They said the incident occurred in Sector 14-A of Shadman Town, where Muhammad Kausar was intercepted by two young men while he was driving home in North Nazimabad. The police said that Kausar sensing a threat tried to speed away upon which one of the two young men opened fire on him.

“It's quite a busy area and shops usually remain open in this neighborhood till late hours,” said Chaudary Asad, the SP of North Nazimabad Town.

“The firing by the bandits caused panic in the area and attracted attention of people around. Since the bandits were on foot, some of the youths chased them which led to more firing by the armed men.”

Repeated firing by the fleeing armed men attracted more attention and the armed men were finally trapped and overpowered by local people, he said.

Before the police were informed the alleged bandits were given a hiding by the charged mob, he added.

Though the police reached the spot within 15 minutes of the incident, by that time, the two suspects had badly been beaten by the mob and one of them was also hit by a bullet fired by someone within the mob, the area people said.

The alleged robbers had fallen unconscious when the police reached the scene of the crime. They were taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, area people added.

Officials at the medico-legal department of the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital said the victims sustained several injuries and they were also hit by heavy stones.

“A bullet wound was also found in the upper torso of a victim who died during treatment while the other survived despite sustaining serious head injuries,” said the official.

The police said the deceased was later identified as Pir Bux and his alleged associate as Muhammad Ibrahim, who was being treated at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

“Initial findings suggest that both men are wanted in more than a dozen cases of mainly mugging and car snatching. We have also traced Muhammad Kausar whom the bandits tried to rob,” said SP Asad of North Nazimabad Town.