Shopkeeper shot, injured: Traders in Ganjmandi take to streets
Block road for hours, blame police for rising number of robbery, theft incidents
PHOTO: FILE
RAWALPINDI:
Hundreds of traders and residents of Ganjmandi took to the streets after robbers shot and injured a shopkeeper during a robbery.
Three armed robbers entered the wholesale shop of Hamza Abbasi late on Wednesday and demanded cash at gunpoint. When Abbasi resisted, one of the robbers shot him in the back. The robbers then made off with Rs50,000 from the cash counter. The injured man was shifted to District Headquarters Hospital for treatment, where he was still under treatment when this report was filed.
The incident triggered protest from traders and local residents, who blocked the road in front of Ganjmandi Police Station for three hours and shouted slogans against the police. The protesters also burnt tyres.
Protesting traders blamed the police for the rising number of robbery and theft cases in Raja Bazaar.
They alleged that the police were not ready to listen to the complaints of traders and locals residents, while also criticising the police for failing to keep the area secure.
A trader claimed that three robberies have taken place in the area in last three days and the police were ‘playing a role of a silent spectator’.
While talking to The Express Tribune, Markazi Anjuman-e-Tajran Rawalpindi President Shahid Ghafoor Paracha said that the surge in robbery cases in Raja Bazaar has created a sense of insecurity among traders.
He added that the police needed to increase patrolling in major markets. He demanded that the Ganjmandi police arrested the robbers who shot and injured Abbasi.
City Police Officer (CPO) Israr Ahmed Abbasi said that he has formed a special team headed by the City Circle DSP to arrest the robbers. He claimed that the police would soon arrest them soon.
The CPO said that the police would increase patrolling in Raja Bazaar, but noted that it would be difficult to provide police protection to every single trader. The police officer said that the traders also need to take some security measures at their shops as well. He noted that the traders needed to hire private security guards and install surveillance cameras in their shops.
Meanwhile, Regional Police Officer Wisal Fakhar Sultan Raja headed a meeting of police officers from Rawalpindi, Attock, Jehlum and Chakwal. The RPO directed the police officers to compile computerised data of all people involved in criminal activities. He asked the police officers to prepare photographs and take fingerprints of outlaws soon after they were arrested.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 24th, 2016.
Hundreds of traders and residents of Ganjmandi took to the streets after robbers shot and injured a shopkeeper during a robbery.
Three armed robbers entered the wholesale shop of Hamza Abbasi late on Wednesday and demanded cash at gunpoint. When Abbasi resisted, one of the robbers shot him in the back. The robbers then made off with Rs50,000 from the cash counter. The injured man was shifted to District Headquarters Hospital for treatment, where he was still under treatment when this report was filed.
The incident triggered protest from traders and local residents, who blocked the road in front of Ganjmandi Police Station for three hours and shouted slogans against the police. The protesters also burnt tyres.
Protesting traders blamed the police for the rising number of robbery and theft cases in Raja Bazaar.
They alleged that the police were not ready to listen to the complaints of traders and locals residents, while also criticising the police for failing to keep the area secure.
A trader claimed that three robberies have taken place in the area in last three days and the police were ‘playing a role of a silent spectator’.
While talking to The Express Tribune, Markazi Anjuman-e-Tajran Rawalpindi President Shahid Ghafoor Paracha said that the surge in robbery cases in Raja Bazaar has created a sense of insecurity among traders.
He added that the police needed to increase patrolling in major markets. He demanded that the Ganjmandi police arrested the robbers who shot and injured Abbasi.
City Police Officer (CPO) Israr Ahmed Abbasi said that he has formed a special team headed by the City Circle DSP to arrest the robbers. He claimed that the police would soon arrest them soon.
The CPO said that the police would increase patrolling in Raja Bazaar, but noted that it would be difficult to provide police protection to every single trader. The police officer said that the traders also need to take some security measures at their shops as well. He noted that the traders needed to hire private security guards and install surveillance cameras in their shops.
Meanwhile, Regional Police Officer Wisal Fakhar Sultan Raja headed a meeting of police officers from Rawalpindi, Attock, Jehlum and Chakwal. The RPO directed the police officers to compile computerised data of all people involved in criminal activities. He asked the police officers to prepare photographs and take fingerprints of outlaws soon after they were arrested.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 24th, 2016.