Gujar Hhan   -  The victims of street crime, burglaries and robberies in Gujar Khan areas have expressed their dissatisfaction over performance of Mandra, Jatli and Gujar Khan police stations in arresting the outlaws and making recoveries, and have demanded the Regional Police Officer (RPO) Babar Sarfraz Alpa and City Police Officer (CPO) Rawalpindi, Khalid Mahmood Hamdani, to hold open court forums in these areas. 

According to sources, the open court forum by police high-ups has not been held in Gujar Khan areas since long and the failure of local police to effectively investigate the cases has forced the residents to voice their demands regarding resumption of open court forums in the one of the largest tehsils of Punjab. While talking to The Nation, Ameer Zaheer, a resident of Mandra told that his electric shop was burgled of electricity appliances worth Rs. 630,000 in August and a case no. 434/24 was registered by Mandra police station. He said that he had also provided CCTV footage of the theft, and visited the police station multiple times but police did not take interest in investigating the case. Ameer said that he was told by police that results of forensic report usually take around five months. He demanded the RPO Rawalpindi to hold open court session in Gujar Khan so that such matters can be highlighted. 

Another victim of burglary, Raja Khalid Iqbal, told The Nation that he was a 66-years-old senior citizen and used to run a small shop in Data Bhatt village in the limits of Jatli police station. He said that his general store was robbed of items worth Rs. 121,200 in December 2023, and a case no. 407/24 was registered by Jatli police in July 2024. He said that police failed to arrest any outlaws so far, maintaining that it was a second incident of burglary at his shop, and his family was now hand to mouth. “I was told by a person to visit DPO Ahmed of Mandi Bahauddin due to his good reputation to discuss the case but I cannot afford to go there,” the elderly person narrated in a sobbing tone while urging the Rawalpindi police high officials to hold open court in Jatli. 

Muhammad Ejaz, a resident of Negail Umar Khan, told The Nation that his family was robbed of 6 tola gold jewelry worth Rs. 120,0000 and Rs. 30,000 cash by highwaymen at gunpoint near his house during broad daylight in June 2024.

He said that Gujar Khan police registered the case no. 735/24 but failed to arrest and recover the looted items so far. He also suggested the police high-ups to hold open court session in Gujar Khan so that his voice is listened. 

Another resident of the same village, Muhammad Hamza, said that different electrical appliances including transformer, water pump, LCD, CCTV cameras and batteries worth Rs. 225,000 were stolen from his poultry farm in February 2024 and police failed to trace the suspect even after passing of eight months.  

Hassan Nawaz told The Nation that gold jewelry worth Rs. 1.2 million was stolen from their house in July 2024 and a case was registered by Jatli police on the complaint of her mother, Rubina Kausar. He said that police could not recover the looted valuables so far and forgot to investigate after registering an FIR. 

Dost Muhammad, a local journalist in Mandra told that his CD-70 motorbike was lifted in the limits of Mandra police station in July 2024 but could not be recovered so far. 

Asim, a resident of Mandra told The Nation that his rickshaw worth Rs. 120,000 was lifted from Mandra town in August and could not be recovered so far. He added that rickshaw was the only source of his income and he was compelled to purchase another rickshaw to earn his livelihood. 

Meanwhile, the newly-appointed SDPO in Gujar Khan, Rana Mahmood ul Hassan has ordered the police to “close down” the dens of gambling, drug peddling, and prostitution and to control the crime rate in Gujar Khan. During his interaction with journalists, Mr. Rana said that police station culture will be improved through elimination of corruption and forging public-police liaison.

He said that he will visit mosques in the area to get information about the problems of the common people and the open forums will also be held to resolve people’s grievances. The SDPO added that all the three police stations in Gujar Khan police sub division have been directed to launch anti-crime drives and to plan actions against proclaimed offenders in their areas.