Inquiry initiated over reports of South police’s involvement in Orangi robbery

The Sindh inspector general of police (IGP) on Monday ordered an inquiry against the District South police as some reports claimed the District South police were involved in the recent house robbery in Orangi Town.

West Zone DIG Captain (retd) Asim Khan has been nominated as the inquiry officer to probe whether the District South police was involved in the house robbery in Orangi Town No 5 on the night between November 18 and 19, reads an order issued by Operations AIGP Sheeraz Nazeer on Monday.

The order further reads that the inquiry officer shall furnish a discreet inquiry report with findings and specific recommendations within 24 hours for the perusal of the IGP.

The IGP Sindh ordered the inquiry after a story was circulated by the media that claimed that a police officer of South District had returned more than Rs10 million and gold stolen from the house.

The media report said the Defence SHO Shaukat Hayathad been assigned the responsibility to transfer the money and gold to the West zone. When contacted, SHO Hayat, however, said he had no link with the case and he had not been assigned any responsibility to transfer the money or gold to the West police.

CCTV footage of the robbery that took place on the night between Saturday and Sunday showed suspects, including those dressed in police uniforms, arriving at the house on police vehicles and other cars.

Meanwhile, the robbed family claimed that a significant portion of the stolen items had been returned to them, but they had not got all the stolen belongings. The family added that no case had been registered.

Police sources state that there is evidence indicating the involvement of the South District police in the incident. Some unconfirmed reports say that an under-training officer from District South was involved in the robbery. It is also being said that the cop is quite influential. Despite being an under-training officer, he has allegedly conducted raids with the support of a senior officer.

When The News contacted a senior officer of the South Zone police, he neither verified nor denied the allegations about the involvement of cops of the South police in the robbery. He said an inquiry had been initiated under the West DIG.

The DIG was contacted multiple times for his comments but he was unavailable. More than 15 robbers, some of whom were wearing police uniform, entered a house in Orangi Town in the early hours of Sunday and held the family members hostage. They stole over Rs20 million, 70 to 80 tolas of gold and other valuables.

The culprits entered the house at around 2am and left the house at around 4am. They also took with them two family members Shakir and his brother Amir, who are involved in the wholesale business of sanitary items, blindfolded them and dropped them at the Baloch Colony bridge.

Police vehicles, a Vigo, a Mehran and motorcycles were used in the robbery, said the affected family. This was the second inquiry ordered against policemen in Karachi in two days as earlier on Sunday, the IGP appointed the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) DIG as an inquiry officer as he ordered an investigation into alleged kidnappings of citizens for ransom by CTD personnel.