Katcha areas: Rojhan residents want their DPO back

Protesters demand Sohail Zafar Chattha be re-posted to Rajanpur.

ROJHAN:

Residents of rural areas and the tribal belt of Rojhan have urged the government to reappoint Sohail Zafar Chattha as district police officer because of his success in controlling the crime rate.

At a protest against crime here on Tuesday, citizens said that Chattha had launched a comprehensive crackdown against criminal gangs in the tribal belt and katcha areas on the border of Punjab, Balochistan and Sindh.

Members of the civil community of Rojhan and residents of Shah Wali, Bangle Icha, Son Miani and Sharif Khan Sadwani joined the protest. Rajanpur DPO Rana Ahmed Hussain is due to retire on March 31 and the protesters urged the chief minister to appoint Chattha in his place.

The protesters said that Chattha’s time as DPO was the first time they had been able to live without fear of dacoits.

They said that since his transfer to Rahim Yar Khan, the dacoits had been strengthening themselves again.

“We want a permanent solution to the crime in the border area of Balochistan, Sindh and Punjab,” said one protestor.

They said that crimes particularly kidnapping and murder had risen since the DPO was transferred. “He gave relief to whole Dera Ghazi Khan division which is home to millions of people,” they said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 28^th, 2012.