SHC takes notice of Machhar Colony lynching

KARACHI, Oct 31 (SABAH): Sindh High Court Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M. Shaikh has taken notice of the Machhar Colony lynching incident and has summoned Sindh IG and DIG on November 1.

The court also ordered the investigation officer to appear before the court along with the case report. On October 28, two workers of a private telecommunication company were lynched to death after they were mistaken as child kidnappers in Machhar Colony, Karachi.

As per the latest inquiry by the police, the victims were robbed by unidentified men who then declared them child kidnappers. Following this, the residents gathered at the scene and beat the victims.

When the local police arrived at the scene, the mob refused to hand over the two men, saying that they were involved in looting and had come to commit robbery. Police called in reinforcement and when they again arrived there along with Rangers personnel, people changed their statement. A woman claimed that the victims were trying to abduct children.

The cause of the incident is yet to be ascertained while the mobile phones and laptops of the victims were missing from the crime scene indicating that they were looted, Deputy Inspector General of Police – South Zone Irfan Baloch told said.

Baloch said that the police is conducting raids to arrest the accused. So far, three people including the main suspect Abdul Ghafoor has been arrested with the help of mobile footage, he added. The Sindh government, on the other hand, had also directed the Sindh IG to take action against those involved in the killing.

The government also announced a compensation of Rs5 million for the victims’ families. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah chaired the cabinet meeting in which Sindh IG briefed on the Machhar lynching case.

A telecom engineer and his staff member were checking the mobile phone towers, they had a medical kit including, pyodine, however, the mob misunderstood the medical kit in the victims’ vehicle and thought they aimed to kidnap the children, Sindh IG told the chief minister during the briefing.

He said 15 men have been arrested for lynching the workers with the help of footage. “The incidents such as Machhar Colony are unforgivable and intolerable,” Murad Ali Shah said. He ordered authorities to take legal action against the responsible.

Anti-Terrorism Court of Karachi has sent the four suspects to jail on eight-day physical remand, ordering the accused to be produced on November 8 and asking for a progress report on the next hearing.

It is worth mentioning here that two employees of a telecommunication company were lynched to death on Friday by a mob in Karachi’s Machhar Colony.

Keamari SSP Fida Hussain Janwari said the victims were reportedly visiting the area to check the signal strength but rumors spread that they were trying to abduct children. Upon hearing the rumors, several area residents attacked and brutally tortured the telecom company officials.

The injuries were so severe that the two men ultimately passed away. A police squad arrived on the scene a little too late to save the beaten officials. Police officials said that they had recorded the statement of an eyewitness. Later on, police said they arrested three suspects involved in the incident.