Contours of hell: Police keep mum as rogue gang strolls Seetpur streets

Victims allege an inspector of CTD is hand in glove with notorious Keri gang

LAHORE: Akram Gopang alias Keri gang has made the lives of the people of Seetpur, Alipur miserable. The members of the gang are involved in the incidents of robberies, theft and extortion. The gang has beaten up the victims who dare to register complaints against them.

“They, armed with weapons and walking in groups of 10-20, would barge into the house of anyone who would dare to stand against them. They torture men, women and children and loot valuables,” Samiullah, a victim of the torture by the gang, told The Express Tribune.

The residents of Seetpur have brought the issue into the notice of higher authorities and even staged protests but all in vain, said another victim. He added that they were the remnants of Chotu and Bosan gangs. Only a few members of the gangs were apprehended or killed by the law enforcement agencies. Others have fled to their native areas and were involved in criminal activities like Keri gang. “What is the use of launching such a massive operation, sacrificing and endangering lives of our soldiers and wasting national resources in operations against Chotu and Bosan gangs, if the authorities cannot keep them from regaining strength,” he questioned.

Quoting an example of the gang’s hooliganism, a complainant said the members of the gang extorted a sum of Rs150,000 from a victim threatening him that they would abduct his son if he refused to pay money. After a few days, the gang returned and demanded more money. The victim refused and said that he had no money to offer them. The accused started thrashing the old man. The incident occurred near the house of Peer of Kundrala Sharif, a respected religious figure of the area.

Another old man, a member of the religious family, intervened to stop them from beating the helpless man. The accused also started torturing him. They entered his house and tortured his family members.

Several FIRs have been registered against the accused in Seetpur Police Station but the accused are still at large.

An FIR was registered by Naseer Ahmad against the accused in PS Seetpur. The victim ran a shop. One day, the members of the gang came to his shop and looted grocery and cash at gunpoint. The gang beat the shopkeeper black and blue when he resisted.

The victims of the notorious gang revealed that over 40 FIRs were registered against the gang in different police stations. The victims also alleged that an inspector of Counter Terrorism Department named Naeem Akhtar was hand in glove with Keri gang.

SHO PS Seetpur Idress Khan said the prime accused was a cousin of the victims. He had been involved in such activities for quite a long time but now they have started raising hue and cry after a dispute within the family.

The accused were no doubt rogue elements, Khan conceded. Akram alias Keri were nine brothers and the cases against them were of extortion, theft and robbery.

When asked whether Keri gang was the remnants of Chotu and Bosan gangs, Khan dodged the question. On the question of support by CTD Inspector Akhtar Naeem, he said Akram has worked as his servant when he was SHO Seetpur.

However, he was not supporting them at all. He called him only once when police had arrested a grade three student from the family of the accused during a raid. Naeem was contacted for comment but he did not respond.

Rana Sultan Mehmood, another victim of the gang, said if the authorities did not provide them justice and protection, they would stage a protest in Alipur, Multan and then launch a long march towards Lahore.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2018.