"If they wanted to make arrests, they could have entered our house from the main door. But they entered by jumping over the walls," Mother of the man detained. ILLUSTRATION: JAMAL KHURSHID
A group of policemen in plainclothes allegedly committed a robbery during a raid at a house in Orangi, claimed its residents on Monday.
The alleged robbery forced the residents to take to the streets to register their protest. According to the residents, nearly half a dozen policemen in plainclothes raided a house in Orangi Town and arrested a young man, Dil Murad, without any explanations, and took him to an undisclosed location.
When the residents took to the streets they claimed that the police also stole jewellery and cash from the house. “If they had any tip-offs or they wanted to make any arrests, they could have entered our house from the main door,” said the mother of the detained young man. “But they entered by jumping over the walls and the roof.”
The crowd that gathered in protest claimed that the law enforcers claimed to be working for a secret agency and insisted they were arresting Murad for possessing illegal weapons. “He had a licenced weapon,” said one of the protesters, adding that most people on the street possess arms with permits but none of them were arrested.
When The Express Tribune contacted the police, they denied any knowledge of the incident. A policeman admitted, later, that they have been unable to trace the policemen who raided the house and allegedly robbed the valuables. “We are still looking for the policemen and trying to ascertain where they were posted and whether or not they committed a robbery,” Orangi division SP Chaudhry Asad told The Express Tribune.
Orangi Town police SHO denied, however, that their team carried out the raid. “We didn’t carry out the raid but I think Shafiq Tanoli’s team members raided the house,” said SHO Saleem Shaikh. The officer accepted, in fact, the allegations that policemen in plainclothes looted the valuables. The police believed Murad was associated with a banned religious outfit.
For his part, Specialised Investigation Team (SIT) in-charge inspector Shafiq Tanoli denied these allegations against him. “My team is authorised to conduct raids and make arrests in the entire city,” he explained. “But for the last six days, my police team never visited Orangi Town.”
Similar accusations elsewhere
Law enforcement agencies continue to conduct raids in various neighbourhoods. They have claimed to have apprehended more than 5,000 alleged criminals since September 5. In a few of these cases, the law enforcers have also been accused of looting valuables during the raids.
Earlier this year, seven members of a Special Investigation Unit, including a DSP, were suspended and arrested for allegedly trying to commit a robbery at a house in Shah Latif Colony. They were accused of looting cash and valuables at gunpoint during the raid and were caught and beaten up by the residents.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 12th,2013.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ