The mob lynching of two telecom company officials in Karachi on the grounds of “mistaken identity” serves as a chilling reminder of the psychopath killer who is secretly pursuing each and every one of us. The two victims were lynched in the Machhar Colony neighbourhood of Karachi, according to the Karachi police, which claimed to have detained 34 suspects thus far. A vigilante mob lynched the two men and set their vehicle on fire after some miscreants propagated rumours that they were kidnappers who were prowling the area with the goal to steal children. A number of witnesses just continued filming the incident. On Friday, two individuals were first detained; by Saturday, 34 had been taken into custody.
The Keamari police are looking for other suspects after conducting a targeted operation in Machhar Colony to make the arrests. More than 200 nameless suspects and 15 named suspects were booked in a case for the event. Five further suspects have been located with the aid of a social media video. The two fatalities were unaware that their final journey would take them to a lonely area in Machhar Colony. The mob continued assaulting them until they were immobile despite the fact that their vehicle was at the scene and their repeated claims that they were only there to inspect and fix a mobile phone tower’s antenna.
Mob lynchings that occurred in the past few months, first in a factory in Sialkot and then in the Khanewal district’s Tulamba town, both on ideological grounds, have brought Pakistan into disrepute. The two telecom workers who were murdered in Karachi were killed when local criminals spread the rumour that they were kidnappers travelling around with the goal of kidnapping children. Following the rumours, 500 to 600 people later gathered in the vicinity, grabbed the two workers, and began abusing them with stones and other blunt objects.
They also set fire to their car. Despite the police team being present to provide security to medical professionals conducting an anti-polio push, no one offered to come to their aid. In an attempt to scatter the charged mob, the police officers fired into the air, but to no avail. If the individuals responsible for the past mob lynching episodes are not brought to justice and punished, such incidents would continue to occur periodically. Because just six persons were given the death penalty and nine others received life sentences for the Sialkot lynching of a Sri Lankan plant manager whom they accused of insulting religion, the judgement could not instil fear among the people. The court gave severe two-year prison terms to a total of 72 accused. It took several months to get the verdict, but a quick trial and strict sentencing might have made a difference. The significance of upholding law and order should also be conveyed to the populace through opinion leaders and other influential figures.
