In Karachi, more than 3,600 vehicles, including cars and motorcycles, were reportedly stolen or snatched during the month of March, as per media reports on Friday.
According to Data released by the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC), in the city, 3,624 cases of vehicle theft and snatching were recorded, and among these, 157 were cars, and 3,467 were motorcycles.
The data showed that 3,027 motorcycles were stolen, while 440 were snatched at gunpoint. Citizens were also deprived of 1,265 mobile phones during the same period, highlighting the persistent issue of street crime.
The report further said that 140 cars were stolen, while 17 were snatched at gunpoint. In addition to theft-related incidents, March witnessed 44 murder cases, six extortion incidents, and one kidnapping for ransom.
In a separate development, the robbers killed in an alleged encounter near Al-Hamid School, Sector 2, North Karachi by the Khawaja Ajmer Nagri police in Shehr-e-Quaid have been identified, while the police have arrested the accomplice of the robbers killed in the encounter.
DIG West Zone Irfan Baloch called the police party and SHO who participated in the encounter to his office and awarded them with certificates of appreciation and cash prizes.
In this regard, SHO Khawaja Ajmer Nagri Faizul Hassan said that the robbers killed in the police encounter were identified as Arif and Rehan, while their accomplice was identified as Merab.
Accused Merab is a resident of Malir, and her family is from Khanewal, Punjab, while both the deceased robbers also belong to Punjab.
The two robbers who were killed in a police encounter and the arrested accused entered a house at gunpoint in the Khawaja Ajmer Nagri area of North Karachi at around 9 pm on March 20 this month, took the family hostage, tortured them, and robbed them of Rs 1.5 million in cash, gold ornaments, mobile phones and other valuables from the house and fled.
While they kept the family locked in a room during the incident, and a case has also been registered at the police station, the police had also obtained CCTV footage of the dead robbers and the arrested accused, in which the three were seen walking through the streets.
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