Askari 10 thefts: Residents lock down colony
Sector A occupants protest against non-cooperation of administration.
LAHORE:
Askari 10 – the army housing colony near the Airport – was locked down by residents late night on Friday, in an unusual protest.
Around 100 residents blocked all entry and exit points into the neighborhood for at least three hours, putting padlocks on the gates. The participants were residents of colony’s sector A which has recently seen a spate of house burglaries. Seven houses were broken into last week. The residents allege that the private security company hired by the management is involved in the thefts because the CCTV cameras installed on the streets where the thefts took place were disabled. North Cantt police have registered FIRs of the seven robberies. An investigation officer told The Express Tribune, “There is an obvious security lapse. Some insiders may be involved in the incidents.”
The Friday night protest ended after a fight broke out between the residents. The argument started after one resident said that he had to leave the colony because of an emergency but the protesters refused to let him through.
On Saturday, the administration tried to sort out the matter with the residents but no headway was made. House owners and residents said that they would not stop protesting until the robbers are caught. They said that the missing CCTV footage and the fact that thieves had been able to enter and leave the colony without being identified pointed to insider involvement. “No one can enter or leave the colony without their depositing ID cards at the entrance,” said a resident. Major (retired) Tahir Majeed, whose house was robbed on December 15 around 10pm, said that the residents would continue to protest in front of the house of the security in charge, who also lives in the colony. When contacted, Col (retd) Arshad, the chief security officer, declined comment beyond saying that “an amicable solution will be reached soon”.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 18th, 2011.
Correction: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this story incorrectly quoted a resident as saying that D cards had to be deposited at the gates. This has been corrected. The error is regretted.
Askari 10 – the army housing colony near the Airport – was locked down by residents late night on Friday, in an unusual protest.
Around 100 residents blocked all entry and exit points into the neighborhood for at least three hours, putting padlocks on the gates. The participants were residents of colony’s sector A which has recently seen a spate of house burglaries. Seven houses were broken into last week. The residents allege that the private security company hired by the management is involved in the thefts because the CCTV cameras installed on the streets where the thefts took place were disabled. North Cantt police have registered FIRs of the seven robberies. An investigation officer told The Express Tribune, “There is an obvious security lapse. Some insiders may be involved in the incidents.”
The Friday night protest ended after a fight broke out between the residents. The argument started after one resident said that he had to leave the colony because of an emergency but the protesters refused to let him through.
On Saturday, the administration tried to sort out the matter with the residents but no headway was made. House owners and residents said that they would not stop protesting until the robbers are caught. They said that the missing CCTV footage and the fact that thieves had been able to enter and leave the colony without being identified pointed to insider involvement. “No one can enter or leave the colony without their depositing ID cards at the entrance,” said a resident. Major (retired) Tahir Majeed, whose house was robbed on December 15 around 10pm, said that the residents would continue to protest in front of the house of the security in charge, who also lives in the colony. When contacted, Col (retd) Arshad, the chief security officer, declined comment beyond saying that “an amicable solution will be reached soon”.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 18th, 2011.
Correction: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this story incorrectly quoted a resident as saying that D cards had to be deposited at the gates. This has been corrected. The error is regretted.