Two telecom company workers were killed by a mob in Karachi’s Machhar Colony on Friday after it was reported that they were kidnappers, according to the police.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Fida Hussain Janwari of Keamari claims that the deceased were reportedly in Machhar Colony to “check [an] antenna and transmissions.”
He made no mention of which mobile phone provider the victims belonged to.
“Equipped with different devices, as they moved in the area in their vehicle, some miscreants spread rumours that they were kidnappers and roaming the area with devices to kidnap children,” the SSP said.
He claimed that after a throng of between 500 and 600 people gathered nearby, they started assaulting them with stones and other hard, blunt items.
Within 10 to 15 minutes of learning about the event, a police unit that was already on the scene to provide protection for a polio team went to the scene, according to the SSP.
“They resorted to aerial firing to disperse the mob,” he said, adding that however, the two men had suffered critical injuries and died at the scene.
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The two workers were in the area to examine the frequency of a mobile tower, according to Docks Station House Officer Parvez Ali Solangi, who also validated the information provided by the Keamari SSP.
“Certain miscreants spread rumours that they were trying to kidnap children in a jungle located near the TCF (The Citizens Foundation) school in the area,” he said, adding that the mobile also torched the vehicle — bearing registration number ALB-946 — in their use.
According to the Keamari SSP, a first information report would be filed against individuals responsible for the lynching, and witnesses would be used to help identify them. They would be held accountable, he vowed.
Separately, according to a statement released by police, South Deputy Inspector General of Police Irfan Ali Baloch took notice of the event and ordered the Keamari SSP to personally carry out an investigation into it.
According to the statement, the preliminary investigation report revealed that the deceased were workers for a cellular firm.
Afterward, Dr. Summaiya Syed, a police surgeon, told that the postmortem examination of the deceased’s bodies was finished.
She claimed that Docks police transported the two men’s bodies to Dr. Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital.
“The men had extensive injuries and were dead when brought to the hospital,” she said, adding that their skulls had multiple fractures. “There were multiple bruises of varying sizes and severity all over the bodies and multiple fractures in the skull vault.”
Dr Syed said there were lacerations on the men’s faces, which were swollen.