At Arambagh, robbers don’t just pay you one visit
Shopkeepers and residents of the area surrounding Arambagh Road are reluctant to report incidents of robberies and street crimes in their vicinity as they feel that their complaints yield no outcome.
Street crimes in the area have been on the rise for the last one year, said Kashif, whose shop was robbed around 20 days ago.
Hakeem Tahir Aziz, who runs a medicine store on the main Arambagh Road, said that his new Suzuki Bolan had been stolen on January 24. Despite getting an FIR registered with the police, Aziz said that his vehicle has yet to be found.
“My shop has been robbed thrice since 2009. Once the robbers beat me up as well,” Aziz told PPI.
In July 2010, three unidentified armed men broke into a private firm, owned by a man named Muhammad Hanif. The same gang of robbers also looted a shop, owned by a man named Muhammad Salman Ghazi, in the National Market building the very same day.
“My shop has been robbed three times within the last few years while one of my vans was also stolen [from this area] three years ago,” said Ghazi, who added that he was now afraid to stand in the area even for a few seconds for fear of being robbed.
“I rush to my vehicle after closing my shop,” said Ghazi, who claimed that he is not alone in his fear. Many residents and shopkeepers are afraid to run their businesses after sunset while residents of the area also hesitate to step out of their houses later in the evening, he added.
“We have to close our shops by 8 pm, though people are robbed even in broad daylight,” said Muhammad Ali, the owner of a medical store in the area.
“I feel unnerved when I need to get out of my house after 8 pm. I leave my mobile phone at home and only take the required sum of money with me,” said Hasan, a resident of the area, who claimed that a family had been robbed on their way back from a wedding some days back in the area.
Robbers come from the neighbouring areas and manage to escape as they are backed by influential people, said Hasan, who was of the view that the area police also tried to avoid any confrontation with these men.
Similarly, Muhammad Khurrum, the owner of a private firm on Arambagh Road, claimed that he was robbed in 2009, while Rashid Zaki, a resident of the area, said that he and his three brothers have been robbed of their mobile phones and money at least once on separate occasions.
“If anyone wants to witness these robberies, they should pass through the area after sunset,” said Zaki, who added that even the police disappear then. Furthermore, officials in the area can be easily “bribed” into letting pillion riders go without being penalised, he said.
Incidents of vehicle robberies are common in the area, said Farhan Ahmed, a sales manager at a firm that supplies laboratory equipment.
Ahmed said the parts of his motorcycle are stolen frequently and even though he has caught the robber on numerous occasions, he was unable to do anything. Furthermore, instead of getting the robbers punished, Ahmed has been on the receiving end of threats.
Tawar, the owner of a medical store in the area, believed that it was no use reporting such incidents to the police as “they do not seem interested in providing security to people’s lives and properties”.
The Sindh home department issued directives to the Saddar Town superintendant to take “necessary action” in the matter after Jamaat-e-Islami public aid committee (district south) president Muhammad Usman Sharif filed an application, reporting the lifting of vehicles from the Arambagh Road.
Arambagh police chowki incharge sub-inspector Sajid Mehmood said that four criminals have recently been arrested from the area around the Dow Medical College signal and the Cycle Market while police mobiles have been deployed in the area to protect the people around the clock.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 2nd, 2010.
Street crimes in the area have been on the rise for the last one year, said Kashif, whose shop was robbed around 20 days ago.
Hakeem Tahir Aziz, who runs a medicine store on the main Arambagh Road, said that his new Suzuki Bolan had been stolen on January 24. Despite getting an FIR registered with the police, Aziz said that his vehicle has yet to be found.
“My shop has been robbed thrice since 2009. Once the robbers beat me up as well,” Aziz told PPI.
In July 2010, three unidentified armed men broke into a private firm, owned by a man named Muhammad Hanif. The same gang of robbers also looted a shop, owned by a man named Muhammad Salman Ghazi, in the National Market building the very same day.
“My shop has been robbed three times within the last few years while one of my vans was also stolen [from this area] three years ago,” said Ghazi, who added that he was now afraid to stand in the area even for a few seconds for fear of being robbed.
“I rush to my vehicle after closing my shop,” said Ghazi, who claimed that he is not alone in his fear. Many residents and shopkeepers are afraid to run their businesses after sunset while residents of the area also hesitate to step out of their houses later in the evening, he added.
“We have to close our shops by 8 pm, though people are robbed even in broad daylight,” said Muhammad Ali, the owner of a medical store in the area.
“I feel unnerved when I need to get out of my house after 8 pm. I leave my mobile phone at home and only take the required sum of money with me,” said Hasan, a resident of the area, who claimed that a family had been robbed on their way back from a wedding some days back in the area.
Robbers come from the neighbouring areas and manage to escape as they are backed by influential people, said Hasan, who was of the view that the area police also tried to avoid any confrontation with these men.
Similarly, Muhammad Khurrum, the owner of a private firm on Arambagh Road, claimed that he was robbed in 2009, while Rashid Zaki, a resident of the area, said that he and his three brothers have been robbed of their mobile phones and money at least once on separate occasions.
“If anyone wants to witness these robberies, they should pass through the area after sunset,” said Zaki, who added that even the police disappear then. Furthermore, officials in the area can be easily “bribed” into letting pillion riders go without being penalised, he said.
Incidents of vehicle robberies are common in the area, said Farhan Ahmed, a sales manager at a firm that supplies laboratory equipment.
Ahmed said the parts of his motorcycle are stolen frequently and even though he has caught the robber on numerous occasions, he was unable to do anything. Furthermore, instead of getting the robbers punished, Ahmed has been on the receiving end of threats.
Tawar, the owner of a medical store in the area, believed that it was no use reporting such incidents to the police as “they do not seem interested in providing security to people’s lives and properties”.
The Sindh home department issued directives to the Saddar Town superintendant to take “necessary action” in the matter after Jamaat-e-Islami public aid committee (district south) president Muhammad Usman Sharif filed an application, reporting the lifting of vehicles from the Arambagh Road.
Arambagh police chowki incharge sub-inspector Sajid Mehmood said that four criminals have recently been arrested from the area around the Dow Medical College signal and the Cycle Market while police mobiles have been deployed in the area to protect the people around the clock.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 2nd, 2010.