Police action: Two gangs of robbers busted

Held men said to be responsible for robbery at retired colonel’s home

RAWALPINDI: Rawalpindi police on Sunday revealed that they had arrested two gangs of robbers involved in different robbery incidents including one at the house of a retired army colonel in Chaklala Scheme-III.

In a press conference, SSP (Operations) Karamtullah Malik claimed police had arrested those accused in the robbery of Col (retd) Wali Muhammad Raja’s house in Lane 5, Chaklala Scheme-III, some 15 days ago.

Sharing details, the SSP said they had arrested two gangs, each with four members. The official said the ‘Shahda gang’ was involved in the robbery at the house of Col Raja, in which the victim’s grandson, Hamza Sohail, was injured while offering resistance.

According to a police press release, eight robbers in total were arrested. The held men are said to be involved in robberies in the jurisdictions of the Chaklala, Airport, Race Course, Valley Road, and Westridge police. They are also said to be responsible for a bank heist in Rawat, in the limits of the Sihala police.

In Rawalpindi, the robbers committed robberies at the residences of retired military officers. In Islamabad, the same robbers stole Rs12 million from a bank.

Following the robbery at the house of Col Raja, military officers including the Rawalpindi’s corp commander are said to have pressurised the police to apprehend the perpetrators.

Col Raja, along with his two sons, both serving military officers, live in Chaklala. The robbers shot and wounded his grandson during the robbery, after which the retired officer is said to have taken the matter to military high-ups in Rawalpindi.

Following pressure from senior military officials, RPO Wisal Fakhar Sultan Raja and CPO Israr Ahmed Khan formed a special team to arrest the robbers. The team consisted of SSP Karamatullah Malik, SP Potohar Attique Tahir, DSP Civil Lines Farhan Aslam, DSP Cantonment Iqbal Kazmi, SHO Airport Abdul Sattar Khan, and SHO Westridge Raja Nadeem Zaffar.

In response to a question about the many other robberies in the city, the SSP said police was putting all possible efforts to arresting those involved.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 4^th,  2016.