KARACHI: A video that went viral on social media has drawn strong reaction from users against Rangers personnel who were seen beating a motorcyclist in the footage after their mobile van hit him on a main road in the city.

In the 52-second video, which was grabbed from some CCTV footage, a fast-moving Rangers vehicle hit a motorcyclist apparently to avoid a head-on collision with a car.

The motorcyclist, who wasn’t wearing a helmet, fell on the road and three Rangers men got off the vehicle. The motorcyclist extended his hand to one of the Rangers as he might have thought he was coming to lift him, but instead, he grabbed him by his collar and other two personnel started beating him violently.

The fate of the motorcyclist is not known.

The Rangers did not issue any statement till late in the night to share any details about the incident or whether they have arrested some criminal.

Dawn also got no response from the spokesperson for the paramilitary force when approached for comments.

Writer Mehr Tarar quoted the video in a tweet that states: “Rangers crashed into a motorbike off-balancing the rider. Then they pulled him up-not to apologize & help-but to shout at him & beat him. Lawlessness of a special kind. Later a coverup emerged via WhatsApp”.

UK-based Shama Junejo, however, had a different take. She tweeted: “I deleted my previous tweet regarding this video because Sindh Rangers were chasing a drug paddler who ran away during an operation. However, the way they apprehended him was wrong.”

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2023