Gang involved in house robberies busted in Chitral

CHITRAL: Lower Chitral police traced and arrested the leader of a gang involved in a series of house robberies in the district over the last one and a half months, officials said on Saturday

Talking to reporters at the City Police Station, SP Investigation Atiqur Rehman, accompanied by SDPO Chitral City Sajjad Hussain, SHO City Haider Hussain, Investigation Officer Abrar Ahmed, and other officials, shared details of the operation.

He said that a special team was formed under the direction of DPO Lower Chitral Iftikhar Shah to investigate the increasing cases of burglaries, which mainly targeted houses whose residents were away.

The case took a decisive turn, he said, when police noticed a suspicious individual frequently visiting Falcon Hotel in Chitral at odd hours. Further investigation revealed that the suspect, identified as Jihad Khan, son of Qalandar Shah, from Rabat in Lower Dir, had rented a room in the hotel. A search of his room led to the discovery of stolen goods worth millions of rupees.

The office said that Jihad Khan was possessing five different identity cards under different names and districts. “He used different identities in various locations but had registered under his real name at the hotel, which helped in his identification and arrest,” he added.

The stolen goods recovered from the suspect include: Gold jewelry, weapons and ammunition, laptops, mobile phones’ and expensive bedding and electrical appliances.

Officials said the suspect is also a drug addict and was wanted by police in multiple burglary cases in Upper and Lower Dir.

When asked about possible accomplices, the SP said that the suspect was currently claiming to have acted alone, but police were investigating to identify any local or external collaborators. He assured that the recovered stolen goods would be returned to their rightful owners after completing legal formalities.