Pakistani man lynched by mob on suspicion of being robber, declared innocent after police probe

A Pakistani man, who was lynched by a mob on suspicion of being a robber in Karachi last week, was innocent and deliberately framed by his neighbors due to a personal dispute, according to a senior police official.

The incident sparked violent protests by the victim's relatives and the residents of his neighborhood in Qasba Colony during his funeral in which two people were killed.

Senior police official, SSP Maroof Usman said that after an inquiry by a committee it was found that the man lynched by the mob was not a robber and was framed by his three neighbors after they fought for a snooker club.

"He was innocent and he was deliberately framed for robbery by his neighbors due to a personal dispute," he said, adding that there had been no incident of robbery at all.

Mob lynching of suspected robbers and street criminals has increased in Pakistan's biggest city as citizens fed up with street crimes and robberies prefer to take the law into their own hands.

Maroof said that in this particular incident the man had a dispute with three of his neighbors in a snooker club in their locality.

"After a scuffle broke out between them, the suspects ran out chased by the man and his friends. The suspects started shouting they were being chased by robbers and a mob gathered and got hold of them and lynched them. One of them later died in hospital. One of his friends was badly injured while another one was saved by police," the senior police official said.

"A full inquiry revealed he was innocent," Maroof said.

Maroof said they found out the truth with the help of elders in the locality.

He regretted that these tragic incidents reflect the level of intolerance and mob mentality in society.