Chhipa, Edhi possibly robbed by same group of bandits

The police have obtained the CCTV footage of the Chhipa robbery to help identify the suspects

KARACHI:

While the robbery at the Edhi Foundation's office had served as a stark reminder of the city's violent tendencies, what few people know was that on October 5, a similar incident had taken place at the head office of another reputed welfare organisation, the Chhipa Welfare Association.

The robbery had taken place at the ground-plus-four storey building of the Chhipa Welfare Association, located near the FTC flyover on Sharae Faisal. "Both robberies - the ones at Edhi and Chhipa offices - are quite similar in nature," Brigade SHO Ghulam Nabi Afridi told The Express Tribune. The police have also obtained the CCTV footage from the Chhipa office to help identify the suspects.

At around 6am on October 5, around 10 suspects stormed the Chhipa headquarters and held the staff and security guards hostage. It took them around 20 minutes to complete their swift operation and escape with the loot. "There were around 10 to 15 men," recalled the founder of the organisation, Ramzan Chhipa. "They were armed and had their faces covered with masks. Some of them were even wearing cowboy hats."

"It was the eve of Eidul Azha. We did not approach the police to register a case and did not even inform the media as we did not want to share the bad news on the auspicious occasion (Eid)," clarified Ramzan Chhipa. According to reports being aired on some private news channels, the looted cash and valuables was worth millions of rupees. "I will not say how much they looted but I will tell you that the stolen money was to be used for the purpose of buying sacrificial animals, charity and Chhipa dastarkhwan," explained Ramzan Chhipa. "I am hopeful that the police will solve the case soon."

Police officials, on the other hand, placed the figure of stolen money at Rs300,000. "It was not the biggest heist in terms of money but it is certainly shocking as the robbers hit a charity organisation," said SHO Afridi. The officer added that the robbers could not find the lockers where all the money was kept. Afridi said that the police had already registered a case on behalf of the state after the Chhipa administration refused to do so.

Though the police investigators have failed to investigate both the robberies, they believe both incidents may be linked to each other. "They [robbers] seemed to be professionals in both the robberies," said a senior investigation officer. "In the Edhi robbery, we couldn't get the CCTV footage. We have obtained the footage from the Chhipa office but it is quite blurry and it is difficult to identify the suspects' faces."



The officer said that some suspects were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the robberies but were released after no evidence was found against them.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 6^th, 2014.