AIG Odho sees drop in crime

City’s top cop says incidents of murder, extortion lower in June than May

KARACHI:

Additional IG Karachi Javed Alam Odho has said that the number of heinous crimes has dropped in Karachi while efforts are being undertaken to control other criminal offenses.

Almost a month after his appointment as city police chief, Odho was addressing a press conference in the auditorium at the Clifton Driving License Branch on Friday.

He said that the incidence of murder, kidnapping for ransom and extortion is much lower than in the past, while measures are being taken to curb cases of illegal weapons and drugs.

Presenting the crime statistics between May and June this year, he said that the crime rate in June has come down.

He revealed that 51 people were murdered in various incidents in May as against 35 in June, while 45 people were killed for resistance during robbery in May compared to 30 in June.

The number of street crime incidents in June was 6,911 while in May it was 7,661.

Odho said people come to Karachi from all over the country, some of those coming from upcountry have personal enmities, which lead to murders here.

The city police chief said there was no organised extortion group in the city at the moment as well as no signs of any gang involved in kidnapping for ransom.

There were two kidnappings during June in which the kidnappers were killed in the encounter and five were arrested while both the abductees were rescued alive.

In June, seven cases of extortion were registered and three extortionists were arrested.

Replying to a question regarding illegal weapons and drugs, Additional IG Karachi said that neither weapons nor drugs are manufactured in the city.

However, strict measures are being taken at the entrances of the city and the police are making every effort to stop the movement of arms and drugs coming from outside the city.

Asked about the by-election in NA-240 constituency, the Karachi police chief said that the election is a very complicated exercise.

Police cracked down on those who took the law into their own hands during the past polls.

Similarly, no one will be allowed to take the law into their own hands in the coming local government elections.