85,000 incidents of armed street robberies in Karachi in 2022: Sindh CM

Karachi: As many as 85,000 incidents of armed street robberies took place in Karachi in 2022 in which criminals deprived the people of their cash and other valuables, especially mobile phones and motorcycles, at gunpoint on Karachi roads.

This was disclosed by Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah, who additionally holds the portfolio of the provincial Home Department. while chairing the meeting of the Apex committee, the topmost civil-military forum in the province to oversee its security affairs.

The CM announced this while mentioning the crime data compiled by the Citizens Police Liaison Committee — the top community policing forum in the city.

Over 100 persons lost their lives while more than 400 citizens suffered injuries due to such robberies. In 2021, Karachi witnessed over 73,000 armed street robberies resulting in the killing of 69 citizens and injuring another 418 persons.

Sindh Police chief, Ghulam Nabi Memon, told the Apex committee meeting that 85,000 cases of street robberies meant 229 such crimes were occurring in Karachi every day.

He said Karachi has 108 police stations and each one of them on average witnessed 2.1 incidents of street robberies in its jurisdiction daily.

Memon told the meeting that the police in recent months had apprehended some 1,655 suspects allegedly involved in armed street crime in Karachi but unfortunately they had been released by courts on bail within one week to six months of their imprisonment. Of these, eight of the apprehended suspects were granted bail within one week, while 26 suspects were released within two weeks after their arrest by the police.

Many of these suspects released by the courts are later found again involved in similar crimes in the city.

The CM asked the provincial Law Department to ensure that the proposed law drafted to introduce the system of electronic tagging of repeat offenders should be passed by the Sindh Assembly at the earliest.

He also asked the police to launch a crackdown against criminal gangs involved in street crime in the city.

Sindh govt.