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Thursday March 28, 2024

Even joint patrolling fails to keep check on robbers in capital

IslamabadOrganised gangs of robbers have created panic and insecurity among residents of different sectors of the capital, including F-10, F-11, G-10 and G-11, but police authorities insist that street crimes have been controlled.The activities of robbers have not been controlled even by the joint patrolling of the Islamabad Police and

By Shakeel Anjum
March 04, 2015
Islamabad
Organised gangs of robbers have created panic and insecurity among residents of different sectors of the capital, including F-10, F-11, G-10 and G-11, but police authorities insist that street crimes have been controlled.
The activities of robbers have not been controlled even by the joint patrolling of the Islamabad Police and Rangers.
The five- to seven-member gangs of robbers forcibly enter into houses in sectors F-10, F-11, G-10 and G-11 and hold families hostage at gunpoint and flee from the scene with looted goods.
The dacoits, carrying sophisticated weapons, do not hesitate to shoot at people if they attempt to resist. They are quite organised in their working and have young boys of 15 to 17 years as their accomplices.
The robbers, who reportedly speak with one another in Pushto, were identified as Afghans and Pakhtuns during conversation with victim families.
It has also been learnt that these robbers only target houses in sectors F-10, F-11, G-10 and G-11. They go into hiding for weeks and months after committing robberies and resurface again to deprive residents of their precious ornaments and cash.
The joint patrolling by the Islamabad Police and Rangers remains a futile exercise during last couple of months as neither crime rate relating to car snatching incidents nor robbery incidents has been reduced.
Islamabad has a population of two million people and even then police performance with regard to robbery incidents is miserably poor.
According to statistics available with ‘The News,’ 429 robbery and 1,300 car-snatching and lifting cases were reported last year. Two bank robberies and four petrol pump robberies were also reported. As many as 17 gang rape, 162 rape, 10 kidnapping for ransom, 88 kidnapping, 144 murder cases have been filed in the capital during this period.
In an incident of dacoity, organised robbers managed to enter into the house of a businessman associated with development and construction work in Sector F-11 a few weeks back. There was an engagement ceremony in the house and dozens of guests were present. The dacoits held guests at gunpoint. Most guests were in the basement of the house.
The dacoits, who were seven or eight in number, moved from one room to another and deprived guests as well as owner of the house of cash and gold ornaments. There was also a boy of approximately 15-17 years, who kept on asking his ‘seniors’ about which things should be picked and which not as booty from the house. The ‘senior dacoits’ gave tips to the ‘young dacoit’ after holding guests present in the house hostage. During this period, a family member kept on messaging police from his mobile phone to inform them about the robbery.
On suspicion, the dacoits rushed towards the boy to teach him a lesson but he managed to hide himself in a washroom and locked himself there. Meanwhile, the dacoits realised that they have been cordoned off by police and resorted to firing on police. They managed to flee from the scene without any trouble and fear. On the other hand, police did not bother to chase robbers, thus providing them an opportunity to flee from the scene.
During course of last few months, police did nothing against this gang allegedly involved in a series of dacoity and killing cases in the capital.
Whenever police high-ups are questioned about organised dacoity incidents in the capital, they say that police are making efforts to bust the gang but to no avail.
The victims of the organised gang, while talking ‘The News,’ disclosed that police officials usually retreat whenever they come face-to-face against these criminals. On the other hand, these criminals didn’t bother to shoot whenever someone dares to resist them.
Fear and insecurity have gripped people living in these sectors and they are helpless against organised criminals. The patrolmen of the Islamabad Police and Rangers, who keep on moving in different sectors of the capital, have never intercepted such criminals. The question is how they flee from the scene when the entire capital is under strict vigilance of mobile and patrolling teams of Islamabad Police and Rangers and there are police checkposts at exit and entrance points of Islamabad.
Who is responsible for this mayhem? Either our law enforcement agencies are incapable or these organised dacoits have got excellence in their looting tactics.
AIG (Operations) Sultan Azam Temuri, the focal person of the Islamabad Police, when contacted, claimed that various gangs involved in street crimes have been busted during last few months. He said police were putting in all efforts to make the city a crime-free zone. “The results will appear within weeks,” he concluded.