KARACHI: More than 500 women and underage girls were sexually assaulted in Karachi alone during the year 2023 which also saw 4,042 cases of physical assault on them, local media reported quoting the police officials.
Separately, the Edhi Foundation said that as many as 714 people were killed and 3,022 suffered bullet injuries in Karachi in 2023, registering a 15 percent increase in violent deaths compared to 2022.
The data was based on the figures of those killed or injured across the city and reported at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH), and Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) during the past year.
According to a police surgeon, as many as 1,565 bodies were brought to the three hospitals for a post-mortem examination. Those died included murder victims, suicides, and traffic accidents, etc.
According to the Edhi Foundation, 248 persons died due to torture while 23 were killed in cylinder/gas explosions and other incidents.
The record showed at least 180 men and women committed suicide in the city. As many as 13 persons were killed by trains and 23 people burned to death in different incidents. Similarly, the number of people died of electrocution was 119. As many as 191 people drowned in different incidents in the city during year 2023.
The Edhi spokesperson said that 750 persons were killed in road traffic accidents and 11,728 suffered injuries. He said that 63pc of those killed and injured in traffic accidents were motorcyclists.
The data compiled by the Edhi Foundation also said that 224 cases of infanticide were also reported across Karachi during the year 2023.
According to Police Surgeon Summaiya Syed, 4,042 cases of physical assault on women were reported in the outgoing year. She further said that 22 bodies were exhumed on the orders of judicial magistrates / courts during 2023.
According to the police, till December 29, as many as 3,158 encounters took place across Sindh in which 21 policemen were martyred while 1,726 criminals were eliminated.
