Presence of armed beggars at traffic signals scares motorists

Islamabad : The presence of armed beggars near traffic signals has raised eyebrows of the motorists who have appealed to the concerned authorities to take notice of the situation and provide them with secure environment on the roads.

Razzak Kiyani, a resident of sector G-9, said, “I have heard about an incident at traffic signal in sector F-10/4 in which a dacoit pretending to be a beggar came near the window of the car and held the motorist at gunpoint.”

“It is really a dangerous situation because if traffic signals are not secure especially after sunset then how can people move easily in the city that happens to be the capital of Pakistan,” he said.

The Islamabad Police soon after the circulation of these kinds of news informed through its official twitter account that all the field staff is being briefed and tasked to apprehend beggars. “Moreover, we are cross-checking from safe city cameras about presence of any armed beggar.”

The crime history of the city highlighted various gangs of beggars that were involved in organized crimes. The crackdown against beggars carried out time and again in the past but they re-appeared after some time in the markets and commercial centres.

The groups of beggars also including women and children often create problems for shoppers who find it hard to get rid of them.

Sidra Khan, a lawyer, said “The existing laws never allow professional begging but still it is happening everywhere in the city. It is not a revelation that beggars are also involved in organized crimes especially in the residential areas.”

She said: “We have failed to evolve a strategy to provide alternative sources of income to professional beggars due to which they refuse to leave their illegal profession.”