Police station building being built since 2016

Policing system spreads thin, making Okanwala attractive for criminal elements

LAHORE:

The crime investigation and patrolling system in the Okanwala Bungalow area has become ineffective as the building of the local police station has not been completed in the past four years.

The nearest three police stations having complete facilities are 15 to 20 kilometres away. As the police stations are situated at a long distance, the area had become attractive for criminal elements.

The major commercial centre of the tehsil, which is surrounded by dozens of villages with a large population, fell on the boundary of the precincts of the Saddar, Shahkot and Ghaziabad police stations.

Taking advantage of the weak administrative set-up, robbers, thieves, moneylenders, prostitutes, street criminals and drug dealers had become active in the area.

The criminal elements became so audacious that without fear of police intervention, gangs of robbers set up roadblocks in the evening, tortured passers-by, looted cash and valuables and resorted to firing on facing resistance. 

As a result, a large number of people were injured in such incidents and several of them succumbed to their injuries.

The criminals fled before the police arrived after covering a considerable distance and easily evaded them. The unabated serious crimes made the lives of the rural population miserable.