Karachi engineers’ lynching: 34 suspects arrested so far

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Police have rounded up 34 suspects so far on charges of lynching two telecom company workers in Karachi’s Machhar Colony area on Friday, South Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Irfan Ali Baloch said on Saturday.

A vigilante mob lynched the two men and torched their vehicle after some miscreants spread rumours that they were kidnappers and roaming the area with the intention to abduct children, police said.

After taking notice of the incident, the South DIG had directed Keamari SSP Fida Hussain Janwari to personally conduct an inquiry into it. Initially, two suspects were arrested on Friday, and on Saturday, DIG Baloch said the number had increased to 34. “Keamari police conducted a targeted operation in Machhar Colony to arrest the suspects,” he said, adding that those in custody were being interrogated.

The DIG said a case was registered in which 15 known suspects were booked. He added that apart from those arrested, five more suspects had been identified with the help of videos of the incident so far.

However, the Keamari SSP told the media on Friday that a total of 10 suspects had been identified with the help of mobile phone footage and statements of witnesses. The DIG said that videos were being used to identify more witnesses and no one involved in the incident would be spared. The bodies of both victims – Mohammad Ishaq Panhwar and Ahned Javed Ahmed – were sent to their respective areas in Naushahro Feroze and Thatta districts, respectively.

People from different walks of life strongly condemned the gruesome incident and demanded the formation of a joint investigation team to probe the actual motive behind the murder of both engineers.

Meanwhile, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also strongly condemned the heinous lynching of two men and sought justice for the victims killed on the basis of a mere rumour.

“Those who paint their hands in blood of innocent citizens should be immediately arrested,” he said in a statement. The PPP chairman extended his sympathies to the victims’ families and hoped that the judiciary would ensure justice for the affected families.

Directing the Sindh government to ensure a fair probe into the incident, Bilawal said, “Reservations of the affected families regarding the investigation and legal proceedings should be addressed.”

The minister deemed the killing of civilians by mobs time and again a matter of concern for society. “Intolerance, violence, and tendencies of taking the law in one’s hands must be denounced,” Bilawal stressed in his statement.