An eye on criminals: Law enforcers apprehend 51 suspects

Police conduct operations after tip-off about suspects behind recent blasts.

KARACHI: Law enforcers claim to have apprehended 51 suspects during different raids in the city on Monday.

At least 23 suspects were taken into custody during targeted operations in parts of Sohrab Goth, including Faqira Goth, Jangal Goth, Lassi Goth and Al-Asif Square. According to SHO Naeem Khan, the operations were conducted on a tip-off about suspects involved in recent terror activities in the city, especially attacks on offices of political parties.

SHO Khan added the initial interrogation has led law enforcers to believe that the detained men did not have links to the ongoing attacks on political parties - the culprits had managed to escape long before law enforcers entered.

The apprehended men are, however, involved in a number of criminal activities and police are trying to ascertain whether they have ties with the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). SHO Khan said that for the first time, an operation was launched in alAsif Square. But Noor Mohammad, a criminal and extortionist who has eight cases registered against him, managed to escape after jumping from the third floor of an apartment. Since Noor Mohammad was injured during the fall, law enforcers searched nearby hospitals but to no avail.

The Rangers also conducted raids in Haroonabad, Musharraf Colony, Qayyumabad, Sher Khan Colony, Greek Maripur and Masroor Colony. They apprehended 18 suspects and shifted them to an undisclosed location. According to Rangers spokesperson, three explosive devices, a metal detector and about 14 weapons of different calibers were seized.

Ten more suspects were taken into custody during a raid in Musharraf Colony, Mauripur.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 30^th, 2013.