Pakistan, Oct. 28 -- Karachi police say they arrested a man on Monday while he was taking 40 allegedly stolen mobile phones to sell. The handsets belonged to women who had attended a supposed job fair in Gadap, where 59 applicants were allegedly deprived of their phones. On Tuesday, several complainants struck the suspect with slippers as he was brought before a Malir magistrate, who granted police a day's physical remand. The footage soon made the rounds online. Whatever the women's anger, justice cannot be dispensed outside a courtroom. The alleged deception that brought them there deserves much closer scrutiny.

According to investigators, the organisers advertised jobs through a WhatsApp group, enlisted a female coordinator and arrang...