KARACHI: Extortion has threatened to become the norm in Karachi recently. It then came as little surprise that some members of the law enforcement setup, charged with stopping and apprehending criminals involved in the practice, too sought a piece of the pie.



On Friday, the public caught three personnel of the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) red handed as they allegedly tried to extort shopkeepers and traders. These officers were subsequently suspended.



One of the personnel was also caught and beaten by the mob of traders and shopkeepers.



Shopkeepers and traders of the Allah Wali Market situated along with the Jama Cloth market on MA Jinnah road in Saddar staged a protest and blocked the flow of traffic for hours following the incident, resulting in a massive traffic jam. The protestors also burnt tyres on the road and shouted slogans against the law enforcement agencies.



According to traders, SIU personnel in plainclothes arrived at the market in the evening and were trying arrest and escort a shopkeeper away with them on fake charges of money laundering. However, scores of neighbouring shopkeepers gathered to intervene in the matter. After an exchange of hot words, they grabbed hold of constable Muzzafar in the police party and started beating him.



On seeing this, two other officers accompanying him, ASI Javed and constable Waseem Zaidi managed to evade the crowd and escape. They even left behind their official vehicle, which the crowd tried to torch.



Some traders later complained that it has become a norm for police personnel to pick up shopkeepers and traders and later demanded thousands of rupees as a bribe to release them.



Having got their man, the gathered crowd turned protestor and broken windows of the mobile van.



Following the incident, officers from the Arambagh police station reached the site and rescued the policeman.



ASP Ali Asif said that all the three policemen had been suspended while a departmental inquiry had been initiated against them. He added that in accordance with the anti-terrorism act, a case would be registered against them if the allegations of extortion are proved.