In a disturbing incident near Ayesha Manzil, four armed men on motorcycles intercepted a citizen and stole a rickshaw along with three sacrificial rams, police confirmed on Friday.
The victim, Rashid, was visibly emotional in a video circulating online, showing him in tears following the robbery. According to the FIR filed at Azizabad Police Station, Rashid was on his way home to the FC Area late at night after being unable to sell the animals when he was stopped by two motorcycles carrying four armed suspects.
The robbers held Rashid at gunpoint, forcibly taking the rickshaw and animals before fleeing the scene.
Such incidents tend to spike in the lead-up to Eid ul Adha, when the transport of high-value livestock through populated areas increases the risk of theft.
This case is part of a growing pattern. Earlier this month, robbers in Liaquatabad stopped a truck transporting sacrificial animals purchased from Bhains Colony and headed to Orangi Town. The armed suspects forced the driver out, took control of the truck, and drove away. The driver was held briefly in the robbers’ car before being released. The empty truck was later found abandoned near Nipa Chowrangi, but the animals remain missing.
In a similar incident in June 2024, a truck carrying 30 goats was hijacked near Kamran Chowrangi in Gulistan-e-Johar. Armed men on a motorcycle forced the driver out and fled with the vehicle transporting livestock from Hyderabad.
In 2023, unidentified thieves stole over a dozen valuable sacrificial animals from Muhammadi Cattle Farm near the Super Highway, within the jurisdiction of Malir Cantonment Police. In another case the same year, armed men stole three high-value bulls worth over Rs700,000 from a North Karachi plot, holding a watchman hostage during the robbery.
These recurring incidents underline the growing insecurity surrounding the transportation and storage of sacrificial animals during Eid season.
