Rising street crimes: Govt decides to replace Karachi police chief

KARACHI: The Sindh government has decided to remove the Karachi police chief due to a surge in street crimes in the metropolis, ARY News reported on Tuesday citing sources.

The incoming fourth-consecutive PPP government has decided to replace Additional IG Karachi Imran Yaqoob only 15 days after his appointment to the top post.

Javed Alam Odhu, who had earlier served as Karachi police chief, is top contender to replace Yaqoob.

Earlier, the caretaker Sindh government had appointed Khadim Hussain Rind as the new Karachi Additional Inspector General of Police (AIG) in September 2023.

Street Crimes in Karachi

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Riffat Mukhtar giving a presentation to the CM last month said that during the last two months, 23 people were killed during robberies, 3953 mobile phones, 46 four-wheelers, and 1537 two-wheelers were snatched.

To a question, the IGP police told the CM that street crimes are high within the limits of 22 police stations in Karachi. The CM directed the IGP to provide him with a list of 22 vulnerable police stations in terms of street crime and identify the hotspots so that special focus could be given to them.

Murad Ali Shah directed the city police chief to get all his SSPs on the roads in the evening time. He added that street crime mostly started after sunset, directing the police to ensure police presence on the roads to control them.