Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has finally offered some consoling news to offer to terrified citizens in Karachi's Gulistan-e-Jauhar and Gulshan-e-Iqbal areas where a motorcycle rider has been stabbing women at random. He told reporters on Friday, two men have been involved in the knife attacks, one of whom belongs to Sahiwal in Punjab and the other to Karachi. Although, he said the suspects are not in custody, he added the law enforcement agencies had tightened the noose around them and very soon the people of Karachi would hear good news. Considering the CM sounded confident about the identity of the suspects it is reasonable to assume they have already been nabbed and are being questioned.
Shah also said the suspect from Sahiwal was previously involved in knife attacks on women in Punjab. The claim seems rather incredible in view of the fact that these incidents went unreported and hence unnoticed. Nonetheless, a press report quotes unidentified sources as saying the Sindh police had sought help from their counterparts in Punjab after they came to know that similar attacks had taken place in Sahiwal and Rawalpindi. And further that the culprit was apprehended but released on bail on grounds of insanity which, if true, is deeply disturbing. Hopefully, the current investigations will not stop at what has been happening Karachi, but those who let a dangerous criminal on the loose to harm other people will also be held to account.
Sadly, in the present case some in the province's ruling circles used it to get even with the police chief they had wanted to see the back of, but for the Sindh High Court's intervention on civil society petitions. And the electronic media also did not report the dreadful attacks in a responsible fashion. The police were constantly ridiculed for not being able to catch the attacker, and when a CCT camera grab showed the attacker in action, it was reported that the licence number of his motorbike had been noted down, which surely would have alerted the man. The police in this country may not be known for their high standards of professionalism, but in advanced countries too, such as the US, far more harrowing incidents, like serial killings, took years for the law enforcement agencies to reach the perpetrators. That though should not be an excuse for the Karachi police not to act efficiently. They must get their act together. The case should also serve as a wake-up call for the provincial government. For, the police efficiency in the province in general and Karachi in particular has been thwarted by a number of factors, such as inadequate numerical strength, paucity of funds and modern equipment, as well as appointments made on political basis rather than merit.
Comments
Comments are closed.