Crime in Abbottabad down 13% claims police chief

Says a number of raids launched under NAP had yielded arrest of several absconders

ABBOTTABAD: As foreign and local engineers working on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor flooded the hilly region of Abbottabad, crime in the district saw a noticeable reduction.

In a news briefing on Thursday, the Abbottabad District Police officer (DPO) Syed Ishfaque Anwar claimed that not only had they reduced the ratio of crime in the district, but also managed to enhance the public’s confidence on the police force.

“During 2017, there was a 13 per cent reduction in crimes against people as compared to the previous year, while there was a 14 per cent reduction in crimes against property apart from arresting a number of robbers and busting gangs while recovering stolen property worth of millions of rupees,” Anwar told journalists at the Police Assistance Lines.

The DPO further said that raids were launched to track and arrest absconders and yielded the arrest of 492 suspects involved in different heinous crimes including murder, attempted murder, dacoities and theft.

Similarly, Anwar said that 328 people who had been declared by courts as absconders were arrested during the year, a 300 per cent improvement over the previous year.

The DPO further said that the district police had focused their attention on drug peddlers and addicts in the recently-concluded year and recovered 541 kilogrammes of hashish, 25 kilogrammes of heroin and 4,559  bottles of liquor.

Undertaking search operations under the National Action Plan, the Abbottabad police recovered large quantities of arms and ammunition, including 30 Kalashnikovs, 86 rifles, 545 guns, 675 pistols, 102,641 bullets of different calibre, 44 kilogrammes of ammunition, and 190 metres of fuse wire.

Comparing the haul with 2016, Anwar said that they had recovered 13 Kalashnikovs, 37 rifles, 239 guns, 233 pistols, 84,802 bullets and shells, 39 kilogrammes of explosive material and 149  metres of fuse wires.

Apart from tacking miscreants, the DPO said that the district police had taken strict action against those violating the loudspeaker law, those resorting to celebratory aerial firing who were booked under local and special laws. He added that these cases had risen by 41 per cent over the previous year.

Apart from these measures, the DPO said that they had set up District Reconciliation Committees (DRC) for facilitating the public in resolving their disputes.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 5^th, 2018.