LAHORE Since resuming the charge of his new office as CCPO Ahmed Raza Tahir has done two 'wonderful things. First, he ordered the police to decide the fate of the desperate gangsters at their own; no matter we have got independent judiciary after years of hectic struggle. So, the policemen did it successfully by killing more than seven gangsters in fake police encounters in just one month period. The second commendable job, he has done is that he got transferred several senior officers from Gujranwala to Lahore to form a team of his loyalists and it happened in just a few days after he was transferred from Gujranwala to and posted in Lahore as CCPO. City Police Officer Gujranwala Ghulam Mehmood Dogar, who had served in Lahore as Chief Traffic Officer, was promoted and made Deputy Inspector General of police (Operations) in Lahore. SSP (Investigation) Shaukat Abbas followed him and posted as SSP (operations) in Lahore. SP Khurram Shoaib was transferred and made Model Town SP in Lahore. Following his motto of aggressive policing, the police officials staged fake encounters back-to-back in the Punjab capital to close the chapter of hardened criminals and killed at least seven gangsters. But still there is no let-up in the incidents armed dacoities, house robberies, kidnapping for ransom, auto-lifting and murders. For instance, dacoits looted no less than 50 houses at gunpoint in the provincial capital during the last eight days while more than 50 robberies and auto-lifting incidents also took place in different parts of the City. Dacoits struck at least six branches of different banks in broad daylight during the last couple of months in City and fled away after collecting cash and gold ornaments worth millions of rupees. The police investigators have failed to trace even a single gang involved in such incidents so far. As per the police record, at least 180 alleged gangsters had been gunned down in police encounters in 2010 while 57 police encounters out of total 252 took place in the City. Almost 186 alleged criminals were killed in such encounter last year. Lahore Region topped with 83, Gujranwala Region with 60 and the Faisalabad Region remained on third position with 46 encounters. This year, no less than 3,656 cases pertaining to crime against property were reported in six divisions of Lahore police only during the first fourth months of current year in which robbers killed 26 citizens, injured 146 others and deprived them of cash, gold ornaments, cell phones, valuables, cars and motorcycles. Out of total reported incidents, robbers and thieves also took away 667 motorcycles and 402 cars. But the question arises whether the encounters are the last option left with the policemen to control crime? If true, it did not work in 2010 when the police killed more than 186 gangsters in Punjab in fake encounter but the crime rate also registered alarming increase. It also suggest that the CM is relying on 'typical policing and policemen to maintain law and order situation and has no plan in sight to bring any positive change in Thana culture or to reform the age-old typical policing in the province. The police during fiscal year 2010-11 consumed more than Rs 50 billion but there is no visible change on ground. Corruption still growing in the department, law and order is worsening in the province and fake encounters and custodial killings are order of the day. When the CM himself interviews and appoints the top cops across the province, then it is his responsibility to end the age-old Thana culture and improve law and order situation in Punjab. Last week, proclaimed offenders clad in police uniforms carried out a brazen attack and gunned down nine members of a family and injured four others over old enmity in Mahadevi village the vicinity Sharaqpur police in Ferozewala district Sheikhupura. All are the gangsters are still at large. Those mercilessly murdered included two women and four children while three of the wounded were children. The children killed and injured in the attack were aged between 2 and 12 years. Neither the top cops concerned visited the crime scene nor did CM take strict action to provide justice to the victims. After all, he is also responsible because he is Khadam-e-Aala of the people of the Punjab.