KARACHI: Over a dozen shops were looted in Urdu Bazaar, according to police, after unknown suspects broke their locks and took away cash.

The watchman of the market has been taken into custody by the police for interrogation.

The held watchman claimed that the thieves entered the market through a storm-water drain.

However, Karachi-South SSP Saqib Ismail Memon told Dawn that the watchman has been detained as his statement appeared to be “dubious and concocted.”

The senior office believed that these were basically cabins or small shops, which were constructed on a storm-water drain. The owners of the shops tended to open the manhole cover before closing their shops at night so that there was no explosion due to the accumulation of gases.

Mr Memon opined that the gutter was around 400 feet deep and it was not possible for thieves to enter through it and steal from the shops.

The officer said that a total of Rs54,000 in cash was looted.

This was the second such incident in the same vicinity of the area.

On Sept 9, around 22 shops were looted in Prime Centre near Tibet Centre.

Subsequently, the police claimed to have arrested four suspects involved in the incident. Preedy police SHO, Aurangzeb Khattak told Dawn that a gang of Afghans was involved in thefts in Saddar, Empress Market and other markets.

Published in Dawn September 25th, 2016