Police chief orders crackdown against gangs of Rawalpindi

Orders arrest of 165 suspects belonging to eight different terror gangs

RAWALPINDI: It is usually said that to resolve a problem, one must go for its root cause and it seems like the city police chief has decided to apply the principle for those involved in acts of terror in the garrison town.

In the latest development, City Police Officer (CPO) Rawalpindi Faisal Rana has launched a relentless action against 165 suspects belonging to eight different terror gangs operating within the city who were involved in various organised minor to heinous crimes including robberies, rapes, extortion, murder and police encounters.

CPO issued orders for immediate arrest of criminals from SF gang, 22 Tiger Gang, TSF Gang, Wali Khan 786 Gang, Boxer Gang Group, 555 Gang, 333 Gang and 313 Billa Tiger Gang.

According to spokesperson Rawalpindi police, CPO addressed a high level meeting on Saturday in which he strictly directed police officials to ensure that all the related criminals were arrested at the earliest as all the crime incidents being committed in the city eventually found some sort of onnection with them. Rana is determined to teach a lesson to those considering themselves above the law and has formed police teams for nabbing all such criminal elements which spread fear and terror in the society while openly challenging the law.

Rana also ordered to arrest and jail such police officials who, in any form, abetted members of related gangs in their criminal activities.

He said that nobody should be allowed to consider himself above the law and added that setting the target before launching any action was one of the attributes of professional and friendly policing.

The police chief said that SHOs, SDPOs and SPs had been issued the deadline for ensuring arrest of 165 suspects and added that the related suspects were abettors and supervisors in numerous immoral criminal offences.

CPO said that the gang members had created a perception amongst people that they could not be arrested by the police while even if they were, they would come out of the jail within a day using their influence.

The police chief asserted that not only would they be arrested but the police would hold them with irrefutable evidence so that they would be left with no option other than to stay behind bars.

Further, SP Potohar Syed Ali informed CPO that the ringleader of 333 Gang and another significant gang member Zafar Supari had been arrested by the police whereas Jaffar Shah from 555- Gang, who was charged of recording children’s nude videos, was also under police custody.

CPO hailed the police efforts and told that he would obtain daily progress report of arrests from divisional SPs.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 27^th, 2019.