Robbers loot over five tolas of gold, injure shopkeeper in Karachi

KARACHI: Three armed robbers looted more than five tolas of gold from a jewellery shop in Gulshan-e-Hadeed Phase I in Karachi and injured the shopkeeper before fleeing, police said.

The incident took place within the Steel Town area of District Malir near Bata Mor on Wednesday afternoon, according to police. Officials said the suspects entered the shop and held the shopkeeper at gunpoint.

Police said the shopkeeper was injured when he tried to resist the robbery. The robbers then struck him with the butt of a weapon before taking gold jewellery from the shop and escaping.

According to police, the stolen gold weighed over five tolas and was worth hundreds of thousands of rupees. Station House Officer Gulzar Tanio said the robbers escaped with around five and a half tolas of gold.

CCTV footage raises questions

CCTV footage of the incident has also surfaced. The video, according to the police account, shows that shortly before the robbery a woman and a man entered the jewellery shop posing as customers.

As the armed men arrived, the woman left the shop, while the man who had accompanied her was also allowed to walk out without any resistance, prompting suspicion about possible involvement.

The footage further shows three armed men entering the shop one after another. They then overpowered the shopkeeper, took gold chains from the counter and fled the scene.

Police have linked the sequence seen in the footage to their initial account of the robbery, in which the suspects entered the shop, threatened the shopkeeper and fled after taking the jewellery.

The robbery occurred in Gulshan-e-Hadeed Phase I, an area that falls under Steel Town in District Malir. Police said the shopkeeper was left injured during the incident after being hit with a weapon butt when he resisted the robbers.

The available footage captures the suspects’ movements inside the shop and the moments leading up to the robbery, including the entry and exit of the two individuals who had arrived earlier as customers.

Police have not publicly shared further details beyond the account of the incident and the estimate of the stolen gold given by the area SHO.