KARACHI: While the people of Karachi live under the threat of robbery all year round, the scourge of street crime does not spare them even during the month of Eid-ul-Adha, as sacrificial animals are also robbed from them.
As criminals roam the streets of this bustling city, around 70 animals bought by people for sacrifice this Eid have been stolen. Most of the stolen animals include cows and goats, which are apparently relatively easy to steal compared to camels.
The theft of sacrificial animals was rampant in the city. Social media websites and apps are flooded with viral videos of such thefts.
However, a recent video circulating on social media has shocked everyone as the video clip shows an unidentified man stealing a cow in seconds in Karachi.
The theft of a sacrificial cow in Incholi Society of Federal B Area was caught on CCTV camera on June 26. The footage shows a man getting out of an expensive car in the street.
He then took the sacrificial cow easily after opening it within 10 seconds. The man can be seen walking towards a car parked on the street corner.
Earlier, another such video was circulating on social media showing a man and his family holding people for allegedly stealing a scapegoat in Gulshan Iqbal neighborhood on June 23.
A man and his family were seen driving and stealing scapegoats in Block 10-A area of Gulshan Iqbal. Some local people saw the man while he was herding goats, his family including women and children were sitting in the vehicle.
The local residents caught the man and beat him up for stealing the sacrificial animal. The mob also seized his car and smashed its windows.
On June 25, unidentified thieves stole more than a dozen valuable sacrificial animals from a cattle farm located near the Super Highway in the Malir Cantonment area.
More than a dozen animals were stolen from the Mohammadi Cattle Farm located near the Wadi Hussain Graveyard in Malir Cantonment Police Station.
According to Malik Shahroz, the owner of the cattle farm, 10 to 12 armed men entered his farm early in the morning and attacked the security guard and watchman.
The accused took the feed employee hostage at gunpoint and stole the valuable sacrificial animals, then fled in a pick-up truck. The owner of the farm said that the stolen animals were worth Rs 10 million to 15 million, adding that the accused beat up his employees by tying them with ropes.
On June 27, a group of unknown armed men stole three bulls from a plot in North Karachi area. The gang barged into the plot and held the watchman hostage at gunpoint. They then fled with three sacrificial bulls worth over Rs 700,000.
A resident named Hasan recovered his cow after searching, but the police could not catch the thief.
He managed to trace his cow that was stolen on June 18 through social media. The animal was taken in a civic car from a housing society under Shaara Faisal police station limits.
The owner of the cow had uploaded the CCTV camera footage of the theft, appealing to people to help him find his sacrificial animal. In the video clip, a resident named Sulaiman is seen, who tells Hasan that his cow is in Liaquatabad neighborhood.
As more and more residents of Karachi are buying their sacrificial animals on the occasion of Eid-ul-Adha, thieves in the city are targeting livestock instead of other valuables.
About 69 goats, cows and bullocks are believed to have been stolen in a month and a half. The incidents of cattle theft took place in North Karachi, Iqbal Market, Freer, Gulshan Iqbal, Orangi Town, Sharia Faisal and Federal B Area Police.
According to the police, a case of theft of 40 goats was registered in Sir Syed police station in North Karachi. On June 17, an FIR was registered at the Iqbal Market police station regarding the theft of four cows in Orangi Town.
On June 19, a case of theft of 5 animals was registered in Baloch Goth of Orangi Town. In block 10 of Gulshan Iqbal, a case of cow theft was registered in Sharia Faisal police station.
On June 27, the Ajmer Nagri police registered an FIR on the complaint of a watchman who was held hostage at gunpoint during the looting of three bullocks.
According to the police, two goats were stolen by cutting the shutter of a shop in Yasinabad area of Azizabad. An FIR was also registered at the Freire police station after the theft of the expensive bull. About 56 sacrificial animals are believed to have been stolen in just one month.
