Sadr police top other divisions in crime against property

LAHORE
The month of March proved hard on Lahore police as the incident of Youhanabad, protests of doctors, APCA, Kissan Ittehad and celebrations of spring season kept them on their toes.
On March 15, twin blasts at the churches of Youhanabad and subsequent lynching of two men amid violent protests continued for two days challenging the writ of the Punjab government against miscreants and terrorists. Keeping in view previous experiences, the police stayed away from riots and avoided using force against the protesters.
Police officers saved their skins by not taking any strict action against the rioters and started investigations into the incident.
Police have taken over 200 suspects into custody and registered arrests of 50 out of the total in the lynching case. Police have yet to single out the main culprit who had instigated the protesters for lynching two men and damaging properties.
Following the incident, the leaders and activists of Pakistan Kissan Ittehad took to the streets for their demands. The top brass of the Punjab government first ordered the police commander to arrest leaders and activists of Kissan Ittehad. After a few hours of their arrests, the government reversed its orders and directed the police to release them which further intensified the situation.
On March 31, doctors protested on Jail Road for hours for their demands. The aforesaid protests, spring season celebrations on Canal Road, Jillani Park and Pakistan Day celebrations on main boulevard Gulberg resulted into massive traffic jams, adding to the woes and miseries of Lahorites.
As the officers of Lahore police could not get any breathing space to fight against criminals, robbers took full advantage of the situation and deprived at least 667 citizens of cash, valuables, gold ornaments, cars and bikes worth over Rs 120 million.
Out of the total reported incidents, 78 cars and 220 bikes were either snatched or stolen from six divisions of Lahore police. Robbers killed a man and injured seven others on resistance in different areas of the provincial metropolis.
Sadr Police division topped other five police divisions in the incidents of crime against property with 153 incidents. Out of the total reported incidents, 20 cars and 21 bikes were stolen or snatched.
Cantt Division was calculated on second number with 114 reported incidents out of which 41 bikes and 10 cars were also lifted or snatched. Three people were shot at and inured on resistance in Manawan, Defence-B and South Cantt. The focus of police officers in Cantt Division is on protecting illegal guest houses and their business instead of fighting crimes.
Model Town Division secured third position with 110 incidents out of which 16 cars and 41 bikes were stolen or snatched. Two Chinese women and a man were also shot at and injured in Garden Town and Shadman police limits. The crime against property was recorded low in Model Town Division compared to the month of February.
Iqbal Town Division stood on fourth number with 105 incidents out of which 11 cars and 32 motorcycles were also stolen or snatched. The complainants of robbery victims have to visit police stations for many days to get the cases registered. SHOs and their staff suggest the robbery victims to get the case of theft registered to avoid punishment from their bosses.
City Division was calculated on 5th number with 103 incidents of street crime, houses robberies, cars and bikes snatching. Out of the total reported incidents, 51 bikes and 9 cars were also stolen or snatched. A young man was shot dead by robbers in the Misri Shah police limits, which is a safe haven for criminals. The criminals resort to indiscriminate aerial firing in Misri Shah, Shadbagh, Shahdra and Walled City without any fear. Police never bother to check illegal weapons as most of the cops join the accused in their private parties. Civil Lines Division stood last with 67 incidents out of which 34 bikes and 7 cars. A man was also injured in Old Anarkali police limits.
Investigation Wings of City Division, Sadr and Cantt failed to solve major cases of robberies. The robbers involved in the killing of Kamran in Misri Shah could not be traced out so far. Ali was injured by dacoits in Bhatti Gate. Police have yet to arrest them. Robbers had looted valuables and cash worth Rs 9 million from a factory of Meer Khan in Shahdra Town. Investigation police could not make any breakthrough in the case.
In Manawan, robbers had snatched a rickshaw from Abdul Hameed and injured him on resistance. Police could not arrest the fleeing robbers.
In Raiwind City and Johar Town, robbers had looted valuables and gold ornaments worth lakhs of rupees from two houses.
On the other hand, Lahore Police won laurels from the CM and IG during the last month. Gulberg police had recovered a three-year-old girl, who was kidnapped by a rickshaw driver. Defence-B police had killed two robbers and arrested two others who were planning to commit robberies in different parts of the City. —Contributed by Muhammad Shahzad