The last rites of 28-year-old Dr Akash Kumar, who was killed during a robbery near Teen Talwar in Clifton on Monday, were performed on Tuesday amid scenes of grief, while his family strongly criticised the provincial government and Karachi police over the failure to arrest the main suspects.
Police sources, meanwhile, claimed that two suspected facilitators had been taken into custody and the gunmen involved in the robbery had been identified.
The funeral procession of the Hindu doctor of the JPMC departed from Royal Residency near Lily Bridge, Cantonment Station, where family members, relatives, friends and members of the medical community gathered to pay their last respects. Emotional scenes were witnessed as mourners bid farewell to the deceased. His body was later taken by ambulance to the Hindu crematorium near Gutter Baghicha in Old Golimar, where the last rites were performed according to Hindu religious traditions.
Speaking to reporters, the victim’s uncle criticised the Sindh government, saying it had failed to maintain law and order. He said Dr Akash Kumar, the eldest among two sisters and three brothers, was unmarried.
He alleged that police were initially unwilling to provide CCTV footage of the robbery. However, through personal contacts within the business community, the family managed to obtain footage from a private bank, showing the incident from beginning to end.
According to the family, the footage clearly showed four suspects riding two motorcycles with their faces covered. One motorcycle had no registration plate, while the other carried what appeared to be an old number plate.
The victim’s uncle questioned how armed robbers could move freely on motorcycles without proper registration in one of Karachi’s busiest and most heavily policed areas, where numerous surveillance cameras and police patrols are present.
He said Dr Akash had recently purchased a car and was carrying Rs5 million to obtain a pay order from another bank. After withdrawing the money from one bank, he was heading to another branch when the robbers, who had allegedly been waiting near the bank, intercepted his vehicle.
“They killed my nephew in front of his father and escaped with Rs2.5 million,” he said, adding that if the culprits were not arrested, the family and members of the Hindu community would resume protests.
A police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, investigators have identified the suspects through CCTV footage, intelligence gathering and other evidence.
The officer claimed that two alleged facilitators had been identified while the two suspected shooters are residents of Korangi and Malir. According to police, the two gunmen are repeat offenders who had previously been arrested and jailed multiple times in connection with bank robberies and street crimes.
Sources further said investigators had made progress by detaining two suspects reportedly identified as Ram Chandar and Sagar Kumar, from an area near Jamshoro. Investigators were also looking into the alleged role of a woman in facilitating the robbery.
However, senior Karachi police officials declined to officially confirm the identities of the suspects or the alleged shooters. A police officer said the Karachi police are expected to hold a press conference on Wednesday to share details of the investigation and the latest developments in the high-profile robbery and murder case.
