Finally, 10,000 CCTV cameras to monitor city
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah ordered the police on Saturday to install 10,000 CCTV cameras across Karachi, as part of the Sindh Safe City project, and work on developing a mobile application via which citizens could remotely file complaints of vehicle snatching.
The CM issued these directives while presiding over a meeting called to review Karachi’s law and order situation.
In the meeting, he stressed the need to gear up for the implementation of the Sindh Safe City project- which has been facing delays for years- so that security and quality of life could be improved in the megalopolis. For this purpose, he announced to convene a meeting next week, where approval would likely be granted for the project’s different components.
Besides, the CM claimed that the law and order situation in the city had improved over the last six years, evident by Karachi’s ranking on the World Crime Index dropping from six in 2014 to 103 in October 2020.
“We can make the city safer by implementing the Sindh Safe City project at the earliest [and]… by employing technology,” the CM said.
The project was conceived in 2011 and under this initiative, authorities planned to install 10,000 CCTV cameras across Karachi in its first phase. Back then, the CM had approved Rs10 billion for the project. However, over the years, its cost has escalated to around Rs20 billion.
Now looking to expedite the implementation of the project, the CM directed the police to install 10,000 CCTV cameras at different spots in Karachi, including red zones and areas where the crime level was high.
Crime data
Sindh IGP Mushtaq Ahmed Mahar shared the crime statistics of Karachi from the previous and current year in the meeting.
According to the details shared by the provincial police chief, 423 killing were reported in Karachi during 2019, in comparison to 414 reported in 2020 so far.
In 2019, he said, 12 cases of target killing were registered against eight registered in 2020 so far. Besides, he added, 2019 saw 31 cases of kidnapping for ransom reported in the city in comparison to 29 registered this year hitherto.
Speaking of extortion cases, he told the meeting that 107 cases of such nature were reported during 2019, while 116 had been reported this year until now. He said 242 house robberies were reported in the city last year and this year 200 had been reported thus far.
With regards to vehicle snatching, he said 1,404 four-wheelers were snatched last year and 1,355 cases of this nature were reported in the current year so far. Moreover, he said, in 2019 the number of two-wheelers snatched was 23,141, which had increased by 5,264 until October this year.
He said a rise was also observed in mobile snatching, with 15,057 handsets being stolen in 2019 and 16,765 being snatched in 2020 so far.
At this, the CM directed the IGP to work on developing a mobile application through which citizens would be able to lodge complaints of vehicle snatching and robberies remotely.
Operation against dacoits
Near the meeting’s end, he lauded the police for conducting a successful operation against dacoits in the katchha area of Khairpur and Larkana.
The IGP told the CM that six dacoits were killed during the operation. They included Pathan alias Patho Narejo and Iqbal alias Iqoo Narejo, each of whom had a prize money of Rs2 million on their head, he added.
When the official shared the details of weapons seized during the operation, Corps Commander Karachi Lt General Humayun Aziz said that he would get them inspected by experts to determine from where they were supplied to the criminals.
Drive against narcotics
The meeting was also informed that 8,081 raids had been conducted at drug dens this year so far and 12,788 persons had been booked in 10,427 FIRs. The police also arrested 6,383 persons on charges of manufacturing gutka and mainpuri and confiscated 625,153kg of gutka and mainpuri from them, besides sealed 66 manufacturing units of the contraband.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 25th, 2020.