KARACHI: Eighteen people lost their lives to either targeted killings or while resisting armed robbery attempts during the last month amid an alarming increase in criminal activities in Karachi.

According to the data released by the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) on Tuesday, in September alone 18 people were killed in targeted attacks for different motives or gunned down by bandits for resisting robberies.

Among other criminal activities, the CPLC said that 26 vehicles were snatched at gunpoint and 163 were stolen in September.

During the same month, 147 motorcycles were snatched by armed men and 2,806 were taken away by thieves in different areas of the city.

The snatching of mobile phones was also on the rise in the last month as 1,737 handsets were taken away from Karachiites by armed muggers.

An incident of kidnapping for ransom and three cases of extortion were also reported during the last month.

Robbers kill man on resistance

A young man on Tuesday was killed while resisting an armed mugging attempt in Shah Latif Town, police said.

They said the 30-year-old Wazeer Khan, who worked at a roadside eatery in Koohi Goth, was returning home in the early hours of the day when armed bandits on a motorbike intercepted him.

“As one of the bandits was collecting valuables, cash and cell phone, Wazeer tried to resist and managed to overpower him,” said an official at the Shah Latif police station. “However, the man on the motorbike fired shots, killing Wazeer on the spot. The two then rode away.”

The police said that the victim had no enmity with anyone and the incident appeared to be the result of armed robbery.

The body was handed over to the family after medico-legal formalities at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2019