Crime graph in three districts rises
PHOTO: REUTERS
There has been an increase in the number of crime incidents in Gujranwala, Sialkot and Narowal districts in the last 10 months, according to reports.
Over 400 people have been killed in various incidents in the three districts since the beginning of the year.
Nineteen people lost their lives in Gujranwala as they resisted being robbed. Six people in Sialkot and two in Narowal died in similar incidents during the same period.
There have been thousands of incidents of robberies in the three districts in the last 10 months.
In more than 22,000 incidents, people were ripped off of millions of rupees and valuable items.
There were 7792 incidents of stealing of motorcycles, cars, tractors, vehicles, and rickshaws, including 353 in Narowal, 3861 in Gujranwala and 3578 in Sialkot.
In light of the current state of crime, the CPO of Gujranwala has directed all the SHOs to make it a priority to control crime, and the SHOs who failed to do so would be suspended, as per the directives of the IG of Punjab and the RPO of Gujranwala.
Meanwhile, the CPO has suspended the SHOs of the Sabzi Mandi and Garjakh police stations while several show-cause notices have been issued.
RPO Munir Masood Marth ordered the police of the three districts to not only put an end to the incidents of crime, but also arrest the perpetrators, retrieve the stolen valuables and then return them to the victims.
Meanwhile, the regional police arrested 1,119 absconders in October.
These absconders were allegedly involved in some serious cases, including terrorism.
In light of the orders by the Regional Police Officer, Munir Masood Marth, the regional police arrested the absconders during a special campaign.
Police discovered during the campaign that the absconders had been hiding in different districts. They also discovered that many of those absconders had not been lying low to avoid being arrested but, instead, were continuing with their criminal activities.
The RPO had given the SPs, the SDPOs and the SHOs from across the region the special task of arresting them.
The SHOs, with the help of intelligence, worked hard day and night to trace the whereabouts of the absconders and got them behind bars.
Regional Police Officer Munir Masood Marth said that the criminals who destroyed society’s harmony could not escape the reach of the law.
He ordered the SHOs to keep track of the accused who had been on bail as well as of those who had helped the accused get bail.
The investigation files of their cases should be strengthened and no loopholes should be left unplugged so that they did not get relief due to those loopholes when they appeared in courts.
The RPO also announced cash rewards and certificates to those police personnel who had performed well.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 9th, 2022.