No end to violent street crimes in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: There is no end to the violent street crimes in the provincial capital despite over eight suspected robbers and snatchers were killed and 117 wounded in over 100 alleged encounters with police in the last several months.

Incidents of snatching of cell phones, lifting of bikes and cars and thefts from houses, shops and public places are happening daily in areas of almost all the police stations. A few of the cases are registered when the matter is brought to bosses’ notice.

On Monday, an employee of a private pharmaceutical company, Asim Siddiqui, was shot dead by armed robbers when he came to Gulbahar to meet his parents. An auto-rickshaw driver rushed him to hospital but he succumbed to injuries.

Apart from dozens of people losing lives in street crimes, a number of government officers, media men were among hundreds of people robbed in different areas of Peshawar in the last many months.

A huge majority of the cases go unreported either because police avoid registration of FIR or roznamcha or the victims don’t approach the cops since they don’t have any hope from the force. Senior police officials claimed they had busted a large number of gangs and arrested hundreds of its members involved in street crimes. Besides, the official said over 100 encounters took place with street criminals in the last many months in which eight criminals were killed and 117 were wounded.

However, the incidents of robberies, snatching and lifting of cars and bikes never decreased. In many cases, robbers and snatchers go violent and open fire without any provocation. Most of the cops even don’t consider mobile snatching or theft from houses and shops a crime anymore and that is why hundreds of cases go unreported.

Apart from theft from houses and shopsthe these addicts uproot iron fences, benches, pipes and even cat-eyes from the road and sell it for a meager amount only to arrange money for ice. There are innumerable checking points in the city and Saddar, bothering the general public but these fail to bring down the number of street crimes or provide any sense of security to the common man. The situation for the last couple of years has forced many people to remain indoors mostly after sunset and avoid deserted streets and roads.