KARACHI: Three suspects, including a high-ranking police officer, were apprehended in connection with a robbery at a pan shop in the Gulshan-e-Iqbal area late Wednesday night.
The arrests were confirmed by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Arif Aslam during a media briefing on Thursday.
The suspects include Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Zafar Javed, his son, and an unidentified accomplice. The incident, caught on CCTV, showed masked men exiting a police van, threatening the shopkeeper, and forcibly entering the shop to steal products and cash.
The CCTV footage was crucial in identifying the suspects.
SSP Aslam disclosed that the police van used in the robbery was traced back to DSP Zafar Javed.
“The vehicle used in the crime was a police van allocated to DSP Zafar,” SSP Aslam confirmed, adding that efforts are underway to identify and apprehend the remaining suspects involved in the robbery.
The case was registered based on a complaint by the shop owner, Shahzeb Mughal, at the Gulshan-e-Iqbal Police Station. The detained individuals are currently being held for further investigation, with the DSP and his son being significant focuses due to their apparent involvement in the crime.
This incident adds to the growing concern over the escalating crime rate in Karachi. In the first five months of 2024 alone, at least 71 people have been shot dead by robbers, with street crime incidents showing a sharp increase.
A report from April highlighted that 6,780 street crimes were reported in one month, including the snatching of 20 vehicles and the theft of over 130 others. Additionally, 830 motorcycles were snatched and 4,200 stolen during Ramazan, with 1,600 mobile phones also reported as snatched.
In response to the rising crime rates, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has directed police forces to intensify security measures and monitoring across Karachi to safeguard the lives and properties of its residents.
