Peshawar witnesses increase in street crimes

PESHAWAR: With at least two young men murdered in just one week, the provincial capital has witnessed a sharp increase in street crimes in recent weeks.

On Tuesday, another young man Asmatullah was shot dead by armed men in the limits of the Michini Gate Police Station. The locals said it was an armed robbery and the young man walking along with his father offered resistance. An official said the father of the victim told police that he along with Asmatullah were coming out of the mosque when armed men opened fire on his son. The man told police that the family had no enmity. A special team under ASP Cantt Haider Ali was constituted to probe the incident.

An engineering student Zeeshan Wazir was shot by armed men when he reportedly offered resistance to armed snatching in the Tajabad on April 22. The students and local people staged a demonstration to protest the incident and the increasing number of crimes. One Jamal was killed and his brother Jawad wounded when they offered resistance to armed robbers in Paharipura a couple of weeks back.

The robbers also snatched Rs1.8 million from the two brothers going home from the currency market in Chowk Yadgar. In C-Division, two armed robbers attempted to snatch a motorbike from one Syed Asad Ali Shah near Mohallah Sheikhul Islam. However, Asad offered resistance. The locals also rushed to help him and held one of the robbers while his accomplice managed to escape. The held robber was handed over to the police.

Locals said the incidents of mobile snatching, burglaries, armed robberies and other street crimes are on the rise in almost all parts of the four divisions of the provincial capital. Besides, houses and shops have been robbed in broad daylight by the armed men. “Apart from the professional criminals, there are many young addicts who are involved in street crimes. Some of the robbers can kill anyone for offering resistance even for a cellphone worth a few thousands of rupees. The robbers have become ruthless and killing of people have spread fear among the people,” a local said.

Police officials, on the other hand, said they have busted many groups and arrested a large number of its members in the last few weeks. Capital City Police Officer Qazi Jamilur Rehman told The News that arrests were being made almost on a daily basis as the entire force.\ “The traders in Hayatabad on Wednesday arranged a function in honour of police after the cops worked out a robbery and recovered Rs5 million. All the accused in the case have been arrested,” said Qazi Jamil. Superintendent of Police (SP) City Peshawar Shafiullah Gandapur told reporters they have arrested a key accused in the murder of one man and injuring his brother during a robbery in Paharipura.

The official said they have also recovered Rs 400,000 from the held accused Shakir. The official said policemen in civvies have been deployed in the currency market in Chowk Yadgar to keep a check on robbers and their facilitators. In a number of incidents, people carrying cash are chased from the market by the robbers who later intercept them and snatch the money. Another official said that police in the C Division also arrested two motorbike snatchers Adnan and Usman living at Dir Colony. “The University Town Police have arrested an accused involved in snatching phones and purses from women and other people coming to University Road for shopping,” an official said.