• Enraged people take law into their hands after suspect shot dead shopkeeper over resistance •Terrorism FIR lodged against people who lynched two telecom workers in Machhar Colony

KARACHI: Just a day after two innocent telecom workers were ruthlessly killed by an unruly mob in Machhar Colony, another disturbing lynching took place on Saturday in which a suspected robber was beaten to death by enraged people showing a burning sense of injustice, frustration and lawlessness in society.

In Saturday’s incident, the suspected robber was held down and severely beaten after he shot and killed a young shopkeeper over resistance in Gulistan-i-Jauhar.

The Sharea Faisal police said 18-year-old Shehryar Nazeer was killed by firing of robbers when he put up resistance during a robbery bid in Block-18 near Qasim Paradise.

After hearing gunshots, the people present there managed to hold down one of the suspects and after severely beating him, handed him over to police. The suspect was taken to a hospital where he died.

East-SSP Syed Abdul Rahim Sherazi told Dawn that around 2pm, two robbers entered Al-Ahsan plastic shop near Jauhar Chowrangi and snatched cash from the shopkeeper. When the robbers were fleeing, the shopkeeper tried to overpower them during which one of the robbers opened fire killing Shehryar, a resident of Liaquatabad.

In the meantime, people gathered there and captured one fleeing suspect and beat him. Contingents of police rushed to the scene and took the suspect into custody.

He said one pistol with three live rounds and three spent bullet casings were recovered from the spot.

The teenage shopkeeper’s body was taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre to fulfil medico-legal formalities.

Protest over lynching of telecom workers

Around 15 suspects have been nominated in the FIR.The police said the lynching incident terrorised the whole locality.

Also on Saturday, the Docks police registered a case under anti-terrorism law against the people who lynched two telecom workers on suspicions of being kidnappers.

The FIR was lodged on the complaint of Mohammed Yaqub, an uncle of murdered worker Ishaq.

The colleagues of victims Aiman Javed and Ishaq staged a protest outside the Karachi Press Club on Saturday against the brutal killings.

They said they had stopped monitoring and checking of signals and carrying out surveys in the city after the killing of their colleagues who were innocent but murdered mercilessly.

They demanded justice for them and urged the government to provide financial help to the victims’ heirs.

Condemning the killing of the two innocent workers, Foreign Minister and Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari ordered the Sindh government to arrest the culprits and prosecute them in accordance with law.

Meanwhile, the police also launched a targeted operation in Machhar Colony and detained 34 suspects, said South-DIG Irfan Ali Baloch.

He said that so far five suspects had been identified with the help of videos. He vowed that no one would be spared.

He pointed out that 15 suspects had been nominated in the FIR along with their over 200 unknown accomplices.

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2022