20yo gunned down for resisting robbery in Karachi

After a record-breaking high in street crime in 2024, robbers have, on the second day of the new year, shot dead a 20-year-old youth in Karachi.

According to the police, the victim, identified as Athar, was shot in the port city’s Bhains Colony area for resisting robbery. He was seriously wounded and passed away while being shifted to a nearby hospital.

The relatives of the victim said that Athar hailed from Sukkur but was currently residing in Karachi’s Bhains Colony, where he owned a shed.

The victim’s maternal uncle, Shaukat, told the media that Athar and his friend Najam were travelling via bike near Bhains Colony’s Street No. 10 when they were approached by two unknown persons.

The robbers stopped them and searched their pockets, he said. When they found nothing during the search, the assailants shot Athar in the chest and fled, Shaukat said.

The plague of street crimes ravaged Karachi in the past one year as well.

Based on the data reported by the Citizens Police Liaison Committee (CPLC), in 2024, the number of people killed in street crimes was quoted as 104 by the Karachi police. 

The number, which had already climbed to 100 in October, was quoted as lower than the 134 recorded in 2023 when street crimes in the city reached 90,000. 

At least 68,561 crimes were documented from January to November 2024.

January, February and March witnessed 8,200, 7,587, and 7,751 overall crimes, respectively.

As per Karachi police data, From January to November 2024, the police, in its bid to curb crime in the provincial capital, conducted several encounters during which 633 criminals were arrested, 1,319 were injured, and 182 were killed, while the number of cases resolved stood at 1,214.