Street crimes on the rise in Ramazan

According to official data, theft of mobile phones and vehicles increased manifold during holy month

KARACHI: As law enforcement agencies claim successes in the ongoing operation against terrorists, banned outfits and militant wings of political and religious organisations, residents of Karachi face a sudden rise in street crimes as more than 3,327 residents of Karachi have been deprived of their valuable belongings, including cars, motorcycles and mobile phones, during the first 20 days of the holy month of Ramazan.

Although, no life was lost during Ramazan for offering resistance during attempted robberies, however, around three dozen people were wounded in various firing incidents over putting up resistance during robbing bids in various parts of the city.

Besides robberies, other crimes also continued in the city during Ramazan, in which around 18 people have so far lost their lives and some 31 have been injured in the holy month.

With Eid around the corner, people have been visiting markets frequently. However, they are constantly in a state of worry due to the rise in street crimes.



Official data shows a sharp rise in the theft of motorcycles and mobile phones in the first 20 days of Ramazan compared to the crime rate during the preceding month, indicating renewed activities of criminal groups and individuals in the city despite the ongoing operation led by the Rangers.

"640 mobile phones were snatched at gunpoint while 968 were stolen during the first 20 days of Ramazan," an official said, citing figures compiled by the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC). "Similarly, 80 motorcycles were taken away by armed snatchers while 1,570 were stolen during the first 20 days of Ramazan." The data also shows that two four-wheelers were snatched while 67 were stolen in the same period.

On the other hand, the police claim to have adopted extraordinary security measures for the last 10 days of the holy month.  According to police statistics, as many as 19.356 police officials and personnel have been deployed to perform security duties during the last ten days.



At a recent meeting to review the police performance, Inspector-General of Police Allah Dino Khowaja directed the police to conduct a joint snap checking at all points along with the Rangers. He also directed all the districts SSPs to ensure their presence at markets and shopping hubs until the closing timings and maintain a strong coordination with the representative organisations or unions of the markets. IGP had stressed to install revolving lights at all the police reporting centres at the markets to ensure their presence.

The IG also called for taking extraordinary security measures to curb street crimes. He directed the police to initiate a crackdown against those who were organising and supporting crimes.

According to a report prepared by the Karachi police, 19,356 police officials were to provide security to taraweeh prayers during the last 10 days of Ramazan and 3,154 cops would perform security duties at shopping centres while 750 police mobile vans and 823 motorcycles would conduct snap checking and patrolling.

Police officials concede that street crimes are on the rise as criminals are taking advantage of the absence of police from roads and traffic signals as the police have been focusing on mosques and shopping centres.



"Usually, the police focus on shopping hubs, mosques and taraweeh places during Ramazan," said South DIG Javed Akbar Riaz while talking to The Express Tribune. "The criminals take advantage of this and rob people on streets and signals where the police are not able to focus during the holy month." According to the DIG, another reason behind the surge in street crimes is that criminals who hail from other cities want to loot as much as possible during Ramazan so that they can conveniently celebrate Eid in their hometowns.