LAHORE - A gang of notorious Proclaimed Offenders (POs) have killed at least 20 people, raped 18 girls, kidnapped 30 people for ransom in various areas especially in Sharaqpur village adjacent to Factory Area police precincts, TheNation has learnt on Wednesday. Sharaqpur, almost 25 km away from Central Lahore, has become a dangerous area owing to this gang of 20 criminals led by PO Hafiz Ehsan alias Sani, a senior Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) official said requesting anonymity. The CIA sources claimed the hired gang had killed seven people including two women in other localities of the province in 2010 so far. The sources said DSP Riaz Shah, discharging his duties in Sharaqpur for the last 10 to 15 years, Ch Abdul Shakoor, a contractor, and a local MPA were patronising these hardened criminals. Even a senior CIA official made arrangements of a marriage ceremony of one of the Sanis accomplices in a hotel located at The Mall some months back, they added. Talking to TheNation, Rana Abbas, resident of Sharaqpur Road, disclosed the gang had also gunned down his brother but the Factory Area police refused to register an FIR against the accused. Every noble person is scared, future of every girl is dark and the life is in danger in the area, they added. According to some FIRs - 615/10, 830/10, 562/10, 783/10, 792/10 and 554/10 - registered in various police stations including Factory Area and Shahdara, the criminals including Sani, Hafiz Samiullah Pasran, Wasim Ahmed Pasran, Mohammad Ali, Abdul Shakoor alias Shakoori, Mohammad Jamel, Naseem alias Mithu, Javed Iqbal alias Mattu, and some unidentified culprits are involved in a large number of criminal acts including murder, abduction for ransom, dacoity, robbery and gang rape. The source said Hafiz had killed three people in 2010 including Nawaz, a patwari, in Faizpur, a village of Factory Area. Sani has received Rs 5 million from Ali Ahmed Dagia, a landlord of Begumkot, Rs 3 million from Asim Hameed, resident of Nain Sukh, Rs 3 million from the family of deceased Patwari after he kidnapped his nine-year-old boy, some victims seeking anonymity said. They said the gang was habitual of victimising girls of gang rape during dacoity bids but the families were reluctant to disclose the situation in front of police, as they knew the results might be against them. Moreover, sources said, Sanis accomplices including Akram alias Akli, resident of Bagum Kot, Shahdara, and Tariq Puppo, resident of Jaranwala, along with six accused gunned down three women namely Hameedan Bibi, 60, Uzma, 43, and Saima, 20, near Sagian Bridge on April 7, 2010, after the family refused to pay the ransom money. However, despite the families staged a protest demonstration against police in front of the Governors House alleging the police had planned to kill their sons, the accused Akli and Puppo were killed in what CIA Nawankot claimed an encounter on Saturday, July 17, 2010. PRO Amjad Hussain and personal staff officer at his residence Parvaiz told this scribe that Regional Police Officer (RPO) Sheikhupura DIG Rai Altaf Hussain was on tour when contacted to seek his version.