Rickshaw and Sacrificial Animals Stolen in Karachi

In Karachi, authorities reported that four armed individuals on motorcycles absconded with a rickshaw and three sacrificial rams from a resident near Ayesha Manzil on Friday.

A video circulating online depicts the victim, identified as Rashid, in distress following the incident.

According to the official police report filed at Azizabad Police Station, Rashid was heading back to his residence in FC Area late at night. He was unable to sell the animals when the armed men accosted him.

The report indicates that the perpetrators, traveling in pairs on two motorbikes, cornered Rashid close to Ayesha Manzil. They then seized the rickshaw and livestock at gunpoint before making their escape.

Eid ul Adha, which involves the ritual slaughter of animals, frequently sees a rise in similar criminal activities as traders and buyers move valuable livestock through densely populated locations.

Comparable robberies have taken place in Karachi during times of high demand for sacrificial animals. Earlier in the month, armed individuals intercepted a truck in Liaquatabad and made off with sacrificial animals valued at over Rs600,000.

According to police reports, the animals were purchased from Bhains Colony and were en route to Orangi Town when the truck was stopped by armed men in a car. The suspects, brandishing weapons, forced the driver out of the vehicle and absconded with the truck.

During the hijacking, the driver was held in the suspects’ car. The robbers then released the driver a short distance away, and the empty truck was later discovered abandoned close to Nipa Chowrangi in Gulshan-e- Iqbal. The police have stated that the animals remain missing.

In June 2024, a truck transporting 30 sacrificial goats was seized near Kamran Chowrangi in Gulistan-e-Johar, Karachi. Four armed men on a motorcycle forced the driver out at gunpoint and fled with the truck, which was transporting goats from Hyderabad.

In 2023, unidentified individuals stole over a dozen valuable sacrificial animals from a cattle farm situated near the Super Highway within the Malir Cantonment area.

More than a dozen animals were taken from Muhammadi Cattle Farm, near the Wadi-e-Hussain Graveyard, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Malir Cantonment police station.

In June of the same year, a group of unidentified armed individuals stole three bulls from a plot located in the North Karachi vicinity. The group invaded the plot and held the watchman hostage at gunpoint before fleeing with the three sacrificial bulls, which were valued at over Rs700,000.