Lawlessness in riverine areas irks SHC

Hostages raped, videotaped for blackmail, Ghotki SSP tells court

HYDERABAD:

The Sukkur Bench of the Sindh High Court Sukkur on Thursday expressed dismay over the failure of the police in curbing crime and maintaining law and order in Larkana and Sukkur divisions, particularly in the riverine areas.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and Justice Abdul Mubeen Lakho summoned the home department secretary and Sindh police chief on March 2 to explain the reason for inaction.

During the hearing, an apex committee report was submitted to the court which stated that equipping the police with army grade weaponry was not on the table. The committee expressed apprehensions that military-grade weapons if given to the police might be put to wrong use.

During the hearing, Mangnejo told the court that the revelations made by police officers before the court were not made in the official meetings. He said that a Rs106 billion budget had been given to the police.

The bench asked why the police were not investigating the nexus between bandits, believed to hold sway over the riverine areas, and the feudal lords, believed to provide patronage to these bandits.

The court inquired why the call data records of such landlords had not been reviewed to find out if there was any communication between the two sides.

It also asked police officers if they would feel safe while traveling with their families to the areas that were now believed to be hotspots of crime. It added that ordinary people had to use those areas and were now scared to do so.

The SHC ordered the police chiefs of Sukkur and Larkana to submit a report at the next hearing of areas that had gained notoriety for banditry.

Ghotki SSP Tanveer Hussain Tunio told the court if advanced weapons were provided to the police, they would be able to neutralize the criminal threat. "I will resign if I fail to clear the kutcha areas of criminals," Tunio told the court.

The SSP told the court that the bandits were recording video of torture and rape of hostages and were using them as a tool to blackmail.

The judges were told that the criminals in the area were supplied advanced weaponry smuggled from Afghanistan through Balochistan.

Justice Panhwar inquired why the intelligence agencies were not taken on board in the operations against the dacoits active in the riverine forest areas.

The hearing was adjourned till March 2.

Home Secretary Saeed Mangnejo later briefly explained to the media that police weren't provided with military-grade weaponry. He added that the army could take part in a joint operation with the police.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 24^th, 2023.