Compiling kidnapping data: Police start work on yellow book

Law enforcers compiling data on abductions, gangs involved and other details from the last 20 years

KARACHI:

The Sindh Police have started gathering details of kidnappers and cases of kidnappings for their database that will be compiled in their 'yellow book'.

Similar to the Crime Investigation Department's Red Book that contains details of all terrorists, the yellow book will contain details of all criminals involved in abductions in the past 20 years. The data collection for the book has begun but the officials admit it will take them several months to cover research of this scope. They are collecting data from all over Sindh.



"This is not an easy job," claimed SSP Muqaddas Haider, the chief of the Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) that deals with kidnapping cases in the province. "We have to go back to the historical record, which spans over tens of thousands of pages of FIRs, court records, witness statements and police files."

Kidnapping is a lucrative activity for the several gangs and militant groups working in the province. According to police estimates, approximately 100 to 200 people are kidnapped for ransom every year. The numbers of cases that go unreported are extraordinary.

Officials feel the ‘business’ has seen a boost in recent years. "Earlier, it was only groups operating from rural Sindh or the local groups were involved in kidnappings," claimed a director of the Sindh Rangers Special Task Force, Najeeb Danawala. "For the past few years, kidnappings increased after the militants and gangsters found them to be a lucrative business."

Kidnappings go down

Danawala believed, however, that the trend has seen a decline once again due to a large number of kidnappers being killed. "Obviously, the criminal goes on back foot when there is a massive risk of life."

Even the officials of the Citizen-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) agree that there has been a reduction in kidnappings. "There were around 100 cases of kidnappings registered in 2014 as compared to 184 cases last year and the credit goes to us," claimed CPLC chief Ahmed Chinoy. The committee is crucial in locating the kidnappers' hideout and taking the abductees' families into trust by helping them during the negotiations with the kidnappers.

Too early to celebrate

Before the law enforcers celebrate this victory, it may be important to see how the kidnapping gangs operate. "When we see the state is aggressive and is killing our men even after making arrests, we have to stop or limit our activities," claimed a member of a kidnapping gang who was recently arrested by the AVCC. "Every man in the gang has his own responsibility. There are separate members who prepare lists of targets, monitor and shift them, and take care of the abductees and deal with the negotiations."

More books in the offing

Besides the red and yellow books, the Sindh Police have also decided to release a black book that will carry the names and details of notorious dacoits and the head money the government has announced for them. The Sindh IG has even asked the Special Branch DIG to update the list and include the names of those who have been traced and identified. Once updated, the list will be sent to the home department for notification.

City police chief AIG Ghulam Qadir Thebo said the police department is currently busy categorising the criminals. "With these books, the law enforcers will tackle crime more efficiently," he hoped.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 15^th, 2014.