Daily Times

Two employees of a telecommunication company were lynched by a mob on Friday in Karachi’s Machhar Colony area over rumours of child kidnapping.

The incident occurred in the limits of the Docks police station. In the footage, the mob can also be seen setting a vehicle on fire, possibly belonging to the deceased. The clips further show that scores of people had gathered and the two deceased were pelted with heavy rocks before being beaten with blunt objects.

According to Keamari Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Fida Hussain Janwari, the deceased were visiting Machhar Colony, apparently, to “check [an] antenna and signals”. He did not specify which mobile phone company the victims were affiliated with.

“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.

Subsequently, a mob gathered in the area and began beating them with stones and other hard and blunt objects, he said, estimating that the crowd comprised 500 to 600 people. A police team, which was already in the area to provide security to a polio team, rushed to the spot within 10 to15 minutes of receiving information about the incident, the SSP said. “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.

Docks Station House Officer Parvez Ali Solangi confirmed the details shared by the Keamari SSP, saying that the two men were visiting the areas to check the frequency of a mobile tower. “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.

The Keamari SSP said a first information report would be registered against those involved in the lynching and they would be identified with the help of witnesses. “They will be taken to task,” he vowed.