Starting today: Double-cabin vehicles to be checked

If people refuse to comply, strict action will be taken against them, DG Rangers.

KARACHI:

If you are thinking about taking your double cabin vehicle on a cruise anytime soon, be careful to not have anything illegal as the Rangers have warned they will be keeping a special eye out for such vehicles.

Since Sunday evening, the Rangers personnel have been given orders to stop and search double cabin vehicles for any suspicious activity. According to the Rangers DG, Major Rizwan Akhtar, If people refuse to comply, strict action will be taken against them.

These checks will be held all over the city.

The DG ordered that all single and double cabin vehicles should be checked and if anyone is carrying weapons in the vehicle then they should be verified as well. He added that those people who concealed weapons or displayed them openly inside the vehicles will be arrested.

This is being done on frequent complaints from various political parties, including the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, which claim that their activists are being kidnapped and taken away in double cabin vehicles.

The issue was brought to the forefront again when the bodies of four MQM activists, Ali Haider, Faizanuddin, Sameed Ahmed Khan and Salman Qureshi, were found in Memon Goth, Malir on April 30.

Before leaving the bodies in the bushes, the men had been brutally tortured and shot once in the head.

Witnesses claim that on the night of April 13, men dressed in the Rangers uniform and plainclothes took away 19 men from Gulzar-e-Hijri. Thirteen of those 19 men were released later. Four of them were found dead and two are still missing.

After the men were identified, the MQM reacted strongly against the alleged extrajudicial killngs and gave the law enforcement agencies 72 hours to find the two missing activists, Ziaur Rehman and Sohaib.

The party has accused law enforcers of abducting and killing the four men which led Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah to order an inquiry into the matter. This will be done by a committee comprising top officials from the police and Rangers.

So far the committee has met twice and chalked out different aspects of the abduction and killings. The Rangers DG took notice of the allegations and said that they were investigating the case; and if someone from the force was involved, or was using the Rangers uniform to do these things then they would be dealt with according to the law.

On Sunday, Rangers DG, Rangers Special Investigation Team visited the crime scene in Memon Goth and inspected the area. They discussed what possible motives one could have to do such a thing.

A Rangers spokesperson said that the investigation team plans to visit and hold meetings with the families of the deceased and eye-witnesses to investigate the case further. So far the joint investigation teams of the police and Rangers have not reached any conclusions regarding the case.

The MQM welcomed the Rangers decision and said that it was all a matter of protecting the lives of the citizens of Karachi.

While talking to The Express Tribune, party leader Wasay Jalil said that it was the responsibility of the law enforcement agencies to maintain the law and order situation.

“Taking this step is a good move as it will stop similar incidents from taking place,” he said. “We are hopeful that the two men who are still missing will be recovered soon.” 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 5^th, 2014.