Two men, the police said were thieves, were caught from in front of a mosque in Dera Ghazi Khan on Friday. They were beaten up by citizens until they fainted.
They were later handed over to the police who took them to a hospital.
They were discharged from the hospital a few hours later and taken to the police station, where the police said they confessed to stealing.
Police quoted the two brothers, identified as Muhammad Akram and Muhammad Aslam, as saying one of them ‘distracted mosque-goers’ by stealing their shoes, and the other stole their motorcycles, while “they discussed missing shoes”.
They told police that they had stolen motorcycles from the parking area of the same mosque thrice in three months.
They said they had forgotten about it and gone back to the same mosque.
They said the mosque administration had deputed four men to guard shoes and motorcycles.
They said Akram had managed to steal four pairs of shoes, while Aslam tried opening an anti-theft lock on a motorcycle that had yet no registration number.
They said when they were about to leave, one of the guards, Muhammad Ehsan, saw them chased them. He shouted for help when the two sped off.
They were caught at a picket in front of Nishtar Hospital.
Several people then joined Ehsan in beating them. He said six people identified them as the thieves.
The men’s legs were tied and they were beaten with sticks until they fainted.
B-Division police were then called and the men were taken into custody.
They were taken to the district headquarters hospital, from where they were discharged a few hours later.
Police said they told them that they distributed stolen shoes among the poor. Proceeds from sale of stolen motorcycles too went to those in need, they told the police. Police said they were yet to recover any stolen motorcycles.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 7th, 2013.