Doctor Akash Murder Case: Suspects Admit Series of Bank Robberies, Police Say

Investigators have uncovered how the gang behind Dr. Akash’s murder came together, tracing its origins to a prison friendship years before the killing. Police say the group’s leader, identified as Aslam alias “Baba,” is a resident of Qaidabad, and that a young woman was present in the getaway car during the robbery.

According to police findings, suspect Ram Chand told investigators he met Aslam in 2021 at Landhi Jail, where the two struck up a friendship that later evolved into a criminal partnership. That jailhouse connection, investigators say, became the foundation for a robbery gang that went on to target bank customers across the city — a pattern that raises questions about how criminal networks continue forming and operating even after time in custody.

The gang’s pace was striking. Suspects told police they carried out three separate robberies outside banks in just 12 days, suggesting a level of coordination and repeat targeting that went unnoticed until the fatal shooting drew intensive police attention. Investigators are now examining whether earlier robberies in that window went unreported or were not linked to the same group before this case broke it open.

Financial details emerging from interrogation paint a picture of how the stolen money moved. One suspect admitted sending his share — 125,000 rupees — to his village, while Ram Chand said he received 70,000 rupees and claimed 30,000 of it was owed to his landlord. The breakdown suggests a gang structured enough to divide proceeds by role, though police have not detailed how shares were determined.

The case underscores a recurring vulnerability in Karachi’s policing: informal networks formed during incarceration can outlast the original offenses that led to jail time, sometimes resurfacing as more organized criminal operations. Prison-based recruitment has featured in other major crime investigations in Pakistan, though rarely with this level of detail emerging so quickly after an arrest.

Police say the investigation remains active, with these disclosures feeding further inquiries into the gang’s full operational history and whether additional members or earlier crimes remain unaccounted for. How thoroughly authorities pursue that wider network — rather than closing the case with these three arrests — will determine whether this becomes a template for dismantling similar gangs or another partially resolved file.