KARACHI (January 13, 2026) – In a bizarre turn of events highlighting the gap between surveillance and recovery, a Karachi citizen has received an e-challan for his stolen motorcycle while the police have yet to track down the vehicle or the culprits.
The Theft The motorcycle was stolen on December 22, 2025, from outside a residence in the Rizvia area. Despite a formal First Information Report (FIR) being registered by the owner, the police failed to make any headway in recovering the vehicle.
The ‘Digital’ Discovery The Safe City cameras “successfully” tracked the bike on January 5 near Hyperstar—not to assist in recovery, but to issue a penalty. An e-challan of Rs. 5,000 was sent to the original owner because the pillion rider (the suspect) was not wearing a helmet.
Ironically, the owner’s record shows he was also previously fined on November 29 for a similar violation, making this his second encounter with the automated system—this time for a crime he didn’t commit.
Evidence vs. Action The e-challan includes a clear image captured by the high-definition Safe City cameras, in which the face of one of the suspects is clearly visible.
The frustrated citizen has appealed to the authorities to use this visual evidence to arrest the criminals and recover his property. Furthermore, he has requested the traffic police to void the Rs. 5,000 fine, arguing that it is unjust to penalize a victim for the actions of a thief.
