MIRPUR (AJK)-Mirpur police on Wednesday busted an inter-provincial dacoit gang and arrested all the five accused involved in the recent broad-day dacoity in a local currency exchange shop here, police said.
Senior Superintendent of Police Raja Irfan Salim told a news conference in his office that all the arrested accused belonged to various cities of the Punjab province.
The police chief was flanked by Additional SP Mirza Sahid Hussain, DSP City Raja Azher Iqbal and other police officers including the raiding police team members. “Police have recovered and confiscated the looted money of Rs6 million in cash, besides the foreign currency, cheques and illicit arms, which they had used during a broad-day dacoity in M/s Fair Deal Currency Exchange in the City on April 20,” the SSP said. The accused, the SSP stated, had looted Rs91.63 lakh in both Pakistan and foreign currencies from the currency exchange at gunpoint.
The SSP said that the arrested dacoits included dismissed Punjab police inspector and ringleader Naseer of Sheikhpura disctrict, Hanif Shehzad of Bhatta Chowk Lahore, Kamran of Taanik (South Waziristan), Shehbaz Ahmed of Jarranwala district Fairsalabad and Nawaz of Ghanak Road Sheikhupura.
Raja Irfan Salim pointed out that the ringleader of the arrested bandits was sacked from the service about three years ago for corruption. The former police inspector then joined the bandits, the SSP said adding that he used to immediately wear police uniform soon after committing the offense.
The SSP said that the arrests of the accused were made from their hides at their ancestral abodes in various parts of Punjab. The looted property recovered from the accused including cash amount of Rs6 million in Pakistani currency, 1370 British pounds, Euro 1000, Cheques worth Rs9 Lakh, gold chain and two pistols.
He said that the accused have also confessed to indulging in six other heinous crimes of dacoities and burglaries one in Mirpur and rest of five in various parts of Punjab province. The accused had robbed the house of the sister of Dr Rizwan Bostan in residential sector B/5 four years ago in 2012 and deprived the inmates of Rs4 lakh, mobile phones, laptop, camera and other valuables. Mirpur police registered cases against the arrested accused.
