Robbers had looted 4.288 kilograms of gold from three jewellery shops. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD: Despite the passage of three weeks, the Islamabad Police remain unable to make a significant breakthrough in one of the city’s biggest robbery incidents.
The Sihala police have yet to trace culprits for the incident that occurred on November 27 around 2am, when robbers wearing police uniforms arrived in Sadiq Market in two cars with police sirens attached and looted 4.288 kilograms of gold from three jewellery shops.
After asking the security guards to hand over weapons for checking, they disarmed and tied them up with ropes and looted 3 shops --- Bilal Jeweller, Nadeem Jeweller and Rana Jeweller. Gas cutters were used to break open safes by robbers who remained in the market for more than one hour. The loot from the shops amounts to 475 grams from Bilal Jeweller, 688 grams from Nadeem Jeweller, and 3.125 kg from Rana Jeweller.
Bilal Sagheer, the owner of one of the shops, told The Express Tribune on Sunday that the market landlord contacted him around 3am on the night of the incident and told him that everything in the shop had been looted.“The news was shocking. I had established the jewellery business after selling all my assets. Serious steps to arrest the culprits aren’t being taken. It has been three weeks but the police still have no leads.” He requested the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to take note of the situation.
Incidents of robbery and theft in the city have seen a dramatic increase. In November, 145 such cases, including 42 burglaries, 6 armed thefts, 44 robbery cases and 52 of general theft were reported in various police stations. This is 61 per cent increase over the corresponding period in 2012, when only 90 such cases were reported.
Sub-Inspector Abdul Waheed, who is investigating the case, told The Express Tribune that the police are attempting to trace the culprits, adding that in Kallar Syedan, a few days back a gang was busted which had looted jewellery shops while dressed in police uniforms, with their modus operandi closely resembling the robbers who hit Sadiq market. “We are in touch with the Kallar Syedan police and will interrogate the men they caught within the next couple of days,” he assured.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 16th, 2013
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