Kidnappings, murders plague DG Khan

76 people killed, 288 abducted in three months

DERA GHAZI KHAN:

The law and order situation in Dera Ghazi Khan is dire, with the crime rate skyrocketing due to the lack of competent police activity. Attacks by criminals on the police have become routine, the smuggling mafia has recovered seized vehicles at gunpoint, while kidnappings by Ladi gang have become more frequent.

Police said 76 people have been killed in the four districts of the division, while 61 women and 38 children subjected to sexual violence in the last three months. Similarly, 288 people were abducted, with the most recent incident occurring two days ago, when two loader drivers were kidnapped and a ransom of Rs20 million was demanded. The suspects also stole the loader.

During the 544 incidents of theft reported in the three-month period, thieves stole goods worth millions of rupees, while in more than 1,700 incidents of robbery, citizens were deprived of more than 900 motorcycles and millions in cash and mobile phones. One police officer was martyred in 11 police encounters during the past three months, while many police officers including an SHO were injured and 144 wanted criminals were arrested. Statistically, Dera Ghazi Khan leads the division in crime figures, with Rajanpur coming second, Muzaffargarh third and Layyah fourth. The aforementioned figures are only of registered cases, as hundreds of cases remain unregistered.

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Citizens and traders are scared due to increasing crime in the area and dozens of people have been displaced from Rojhan. Additionally, the grand operation conducted by the Punjab government to eliminate bandits in riverine areas of Dera Ghazi Khan also failed to bear fruit.

Despite spending more than Rs1 billion on operations in Rajanpur and Rahimyar Khan's, it was not possible to eliminate the bandits. Instead, gang leaders are still running their networks from secure hideouts and demanding ransom and extortion money.

Yesterday, in the Saddar police station area, suspected smugglers stole two vehicles from police during their transfer to the customs warehouse.

The vehicles reportedly contained arms and a large quantity of drugs. Similarly, the Ladi gang stole two loaders and kidnapped a driver, demanding a ransom of Rs20 million. Despite the passage of three days, the abductees have yet to be rescued.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 29^th, 2023.