Crime heave touches alarming level in Chauntra

Rawalpindi : In Rawalpindi the criminals have become berserk, the police force is nowhere to be seen and the police bosses are falling deeper and deeper in a blissful slumber.

And those men in uniform, who could be seen active, are faced with serious allegations of either being involved in criminal activities themselves or patronising and protecting the criminals.

Amidst the circumstances, people seem to have been left at the mercy of these ruthless gangsters living in their safe hideout in jungles adjacent to the affected areas, “The deserters are ruling in Chauntra with the support of land-grabbers and the police,” the people of Mandwal, Chandh, Chhachh and Rajarh told this correspondent. “The land grabbers hire services of the deserters belonging to different areas of the Punjab and KP against heavy amounts,” Malik Hamid said adding that the deserters involved in heinous crimes, remain on the disposal of the land grabbers, he added.

An elderly figure of Rajarh, Raja Aurangzeb told this scribe that counter shooting between different gangs was continued for at least six months killing two people including a teenage girl belonging to Shakral and a resident of Chhachh while over 8 people of different villages sustained bullet injuries. “The gangsters create fear among the people of the areas by open shooting and looting,” he maintained. The deserters recently looted a shop at Chandh depriving cash and valuables worth Rs350,000, Wajid the shopkeeper told this correspondent. He said that the armed gangsters robbed the shops in broad daylight.

It was not far back in the past that this scribe was informed by the locals of Chauntra that hold of the criminal gangs and deserters has been on the rise at an alarming rate and soon there would be times that people will forget as to what was happening in ‘Kachcha’ area in Rahimyar Khan and Larkana located on the border of Punjab and Sindh.

The key natives of the area including Malik Alaf, Ch. Abrar, Ch. Masood, Sardar Akram, Sardar Amin Khan, Bilal Wazir and many others expressing their identical views said, “Unfortunately no appropriate measures were adopted to control that surging wave of crime, especially at Chauntra. Instead, the Rawalpindi Police posed as if it their main responsibility to fight anti-social elements as well as terrorism and check the suspects. That, incidentally, turned out to be the easiest manoeuvre of extortion for the police.” Two key land grabbers are responsible for creating fear in the society to achieve their set targets of grabbing maximum land in the area, they said adding that they, even, hired the criminals gangs on contact on monthly, half-yearly and yearly bases to continue clashes with their opponents. “The poor and feeble people surrender before the mafia and hand them over lands in pockets but people having capacity to fight against mafias, take stand against them,” they maintained.

“Both the land-grabbing groups are quite influential and powerful because of imperfect policing who are not concentrating on professional policing but their focus is on monetary advantages, ending on destruction of writ of the law regulators,” the locals said and added that the mafias use their might against frail and reticent people and acquire their objectives.

The elderly landlord Raja Aurangzeb said, “the police are capable of implementation of law if they prove their commitment with their profession skill but the poor people have lost confidence of the police system.”

A vast majority of victims of criminal activities prefer to keep quiet because they hardly can afford to get embroiled in the cruel, unfriendly and threatening policing system, he said.

The people living in the area falling in the jurisdiction of the Chauntra Police Station have always been particularly remained vulnerable, he maintained.

Mandwal, Chandh, Chhachh and Rajarh and the link roads and streets in-between have become the most favourite hunting ground for the street criminals, Raja said.

The efforts and dedication shown by the newly appointed CPO, indicate that the things could be changed if there is a will to change. The individuals do matter and that is what these two officers have proven. If the whole Punjab police department may take to their footsteps we have reason to believe that we can have an ideal society in which people can live in peace, he concluded.