IG reviews law and order in Kacha area

IG Sindh Police Riffat Mukhtar Raja has sought a comprehensive assessment of the prevailing law and order conditions in the Kacha area of the province including a review of cases pertaining to kidnapping for ransom, hostage rescues, and weapons and narcotics seizures.

According to sources in the Central Police Office (CPO), the Kashmore police have submitted a 40-day performance report to the provincial police chief.

As disclosed in the report, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, the Kashmore police have rescued 48 hostages during the last 40 days and thwarted the abduction of 28 citizens.

Furthermore, their efforts have led to the arrest of 312 fugitives. The Kashmore police have been involved in 23 encounters over the same timeframe, resulting in the neutralisation of five high-priority suspects and the arrest of 16 individuals with injuries sustained during fire exchanges in Kacha.

Read Karachi rocked by a spate of street crimes

The operations have also seen the confiscation of state-of-the-art weaponry. SSP Amjad Sheikh emphasised the vulnerability of the Kashmore region in Sindh, which shares boundaries with Punjab. Over the past few months, 42 businessmen and citizens fell victim to abductions in Kashmore.

The police successfully rescued 38 of them through anti-robbery operations, with ongoing endeavours to secure the remaining four businessmen. A relentless police operation is currently in progress to secure two businessmen in the Shorkot area of Kacha.

The SSP Kashmore further claimed that a total of 11 robbery syndicates, involved in kidnapping for ransom and highway banditry, have been dismantled. These operations have culminated in the recovery of two rocket launchers, two anti-aircraft weapons, nine Kalashnikovs, four rifles, and nine pistols from these notorious criminal entities.

Sources within the CPO have revealed that the IG Sindh has conducted a briefing session with his officers, examining the law and order landscape in the Kacha region. He has sought comprehensive reports from districts grappling with similar turmoil, including Shikarpur, Kashmore, Jacobabad, Ghotki, Sukkur, and Khairpur.