Sindh police chief admits rise in phone snatching, drug trafficking in Karachi

KARACHI: Sindh police chief Javed Alam Odho said on Wednesday that mobile-phone snatching had increased in Karachi this year, while police were working on a strategy to curb drug trafficking amid reports of a spillover of drugs from Balochistan.

Speaking to the media after a meeting of the Sindh Assembly’s standing committee, Odho said that a major drug supplier had been killed the previous night and that he would soon speak to the inspector general of police in Balochistan about the reported drug factories in the province.

He did not identify the drug supplier or provide further details about the killing.

He said police also planned to work with the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) in schools to tackle drug use.

On the Mir Raza murder case, Odho said he had spoken to police officers whose names had emerged in connection with alleged threats to Karachi Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed, but declined to comment further because a judicial commission was investigating the matter.

 “Whatever comes out before the commission will determine what we say about the case,” he said.

Dr Summaiya told the judicial commission on Tuesday that she had faced threats and surveillance after raising questions about discrepancies in the first post-mortem report of 25-year-old businessman Mir Raza Ali.

She said she was followed by motorcyclists for two days and that information about her family and residential address was circulated on social media.

She also told the commission that she had filed a complaint with the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA).

Mir Raza, the owner of Wafflix, went missing on July 28 and his body was found the following day in Gulistan-i-Jauhar with a gunshot wound. His family has maintained that he was murdered and rejected the initial suggestion of suicide.

Dr Summaiya had earlier pointed out discrepancies between the first medico-legal report and available photographs of Mir Raza’s body, after which the body was exhumed and a second post-mortem was conducted.

The second examination found multiple injuries and, according to the police surgeon’s testimony, ruled out suicide.

During her testimony, Dr Summaiya also alleged that when she raised concerns about the first autopsy with a police officer, she was told police would be lenient during interrogation if she did not oppose findings suggesting suicide.

She further alleged that DIG Crime and Investigation Amir Farooqi had attempted to influence her findings. These are allegations made before the commission and have not been established as findings against the officers.

The judicial commission, headed by Sindh High Court Justice Omar Sial, has been examining the circumstances surrounding Mir Raza’s death and possible negligence in the investigation.

The commission has also questioned police over the handling of the FIR, CCTV footage and other records.

The commission’s proceedings have continued to generate fresh allegations.

On Tuesday, counsel for Mir Raza’s family, Jibran Nasir, told the panel that the victim’s father had received a late-night phone call from an unidentified person who allegedly referred to Ferozabad SHO Adil Afzal and claimed to have spoken to DIG Amir Farooqi before asking the father which people he suspected in the case.

The claim was made by the counsel before the commission and remains an allegation.

Asked about the reported abduction of a former provincial lawmaker and an incident involving a police officer at the Sindh High Court, Odho said police were aware of what had happened and why, describing the former case as a dispute involving one party unlawfully detaining another.

Armed men reportedly took former provincial lawmaker Ali Hassan Chaniho from his residence in Khipro, Sanghar, on Monday.

According to eyewitnesses cited by media, armed men in two vehicles entered Chaniho’s residence, assaulted and locked his security guards in a room and took the former minister away.

 Sanghar SSP confirmed that police had been informed and said the matter appeared to involve a financial dispute, with further investigation under way.

Odho said that he had directed police officers to show no leniency in the matter.

Regarding the police officer at the Sindh High Court, Odho did not provide details about the incident or identify the officer.

The IG said Karachi’s overall law-and-order situation had improved and that police were continuing to fulfil their responsibilities to curb crime and protect citizens’ lives and property.

He said the rise in mobile-phone snatching remained a concern, while police were also working on measures to tackle drug trafficking and drug use.

Later, Odho inaugurated a Crime Monitoring and Task Force Cell at the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry, saying the initiative would strengthen coordination between police and the industrial and business community.

He said protecting traders and maintaining law and order in industrial areas remained among the Sindh police’s priorities, adding that effective communication between police and the business community would help prevent crime and improve public safety.