A man accused of stealing more than 50 mobile phones from women after luring them to a farmhouse in Gadap was beaten by some of the aggrieved women during a court appearance in Karachi on Tuesday, October 27. The Gadap court incident took place at the Malir judicial magistrate’s court, where police had produced the suspect after arresting him a day earlier.
During the hearing, the investigating officer told the magistrate that mobile phones had been recovered from the suspect’s possession. He said more phones still needed to be recovered and that the suspect’s accomplices were still at large. On that basis, he asked the court for physical remand.
The court granted police one-day physical remand of the suspect. That order means investigators can keep him in custody for a further day while they try to recover the remaining phones and trace his accomplices.
The Gadap court incident: what happened at the hearing
A number of the affected women were present at the court premises for the hearing. In a video seen by Dawn, the women could be seen asking police to show the suspect’s face. They then gathered around him and beat him with slippers and slapped him.
As the suspect tried to move away, the group chased him until police took him inside a room. Police then brought the situation under control and the hearing proceeded.
The incident underlines the anger felt by the victims. It also raises a separate question about security inside court premises, since an accused person in police custody was reached by a crowd before officers moved him to safety.
The farmhouse case behind the hearing
The case goes back to October 1, when 59 women were brought to a farmhouse in Gadap on the pretext of job interviews. Police say the women were lured through a WhatsApp group and job advertisements, then taken to the farmhouse by bus.
Malir Senior Superintendent of Police Dr Abdul Khaliq Pirzada told Dawn a day earlier that police had arrested the prime suspect on a tip-off while he was on his way to sell 40 mobile phones. Police say he planned to sell the phones to destroy evidence.
Police identified the suspect as Babar alias Sahil Salman. They said he had introduced himself as Salman at the farmhouse. Two other people were arrested earlier: Waqas, who had booked the farmhouse, and Nargis, the event coordinator. Police also arrested Shahzad, who allegedly helped the main suspect escape on a motorcycle after the phones were taken.
A first information report was registered at Gadap City police station on the complaint of one of the victims. It invokes Section 379 (theft), Section 420 (cheating) and Section 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
What remains unresolved
Police have recovered 40 of the 59 phones so far. They say they have clues that the remaining 19 phones are with another suspect who is still absconding, and efforts to arrest him are under way.
The one-day remand gives investigators a short window. They must use it to recover the missing phones, identify the remaining suspects, and complete the early stage of the investigation before producing the accused before the court again.
For the victims, the case is about more than the phones. Many of them were jobseekers who answered what looked like a genuine employment advertisement. The case has therefore become a warning about fake job offers that target women looking for work.
Source: Dawn, “Karachi suspect accused of luring women for jobs, stealing their phones beaten with slippers during court appearance”, published 27 October 2026 (19:48 PKT) — https://www.dawn.com/news/2040229/karachi-suspect-accused-of-luring-women-for-jobs-stealing-their-phones-beaten-with-slippers-during-court-appearance
Frequently asked questions
What happened in the Gadap court incident?
Women who say their phones were stolen at a Gadap farmhouse beat the accused man with slippers and slapped him during his appearance before a Malir judicial magistrate on October 27. Police then took him inside a room.
How long is the police remand?
The court granted police one-day physical remand, so investigators can hold the suspect for a further day while they recover more phones and trace his accomplices.
How many phones were stolen and recovered?
Police say 59 phones were taken from women at the farmhouse on October 1. They have recovered 40 phones so far, and say the remaining 19 are with another suspect who is still at large.
