RAWALPINDI - A large number of residents including women shoppers have been feeling insecure and prefer to stay indoors due to continues unchecked house robberies, mobile and purse snatching incidents by unidentified gun men in several areas of the city.
The residents of the areas within the precincts of Westridge, Race Course and Naseerabad police stations are facing a surge in street crimes, as the armed robberies have become a routine matter there. The most worried fact is that all the station house officers instead of curbing crime have adopted a new strategy of not registering the cases apparently to show low graph of crime in their areas and to humiliate the victims in different ways.
The victims trying to approach City Police Officer (CPO) Akhtar Umar Lalayka or Superintendent of Police (SP) Potohar Division Haroon Joya to redress their apathies have been facing problems due to their non-availability in their offices during duty hours.
Similarly, the complaint cell set up by Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif, claiming to provide the victims speedy justice, has also become ineffective as no action is being taken on the citizens’ complaints against the careless police officers.
A large number of women shoppers when interviewed by this scribe expressed their great concern over surge in street crime and said that they felt insecure while moving in bazaars. They said police have totally failed in protections of people and sheltering the criminals.
Haji Tariq Mehmood, a resident of Chakra, told The Nation on Friday that he along with his son was robbed of Rs 30,000 cash and two mobile phones by a gang of five armed intruders at gunpoint near Aksir Plaza at 8:30pm on December 23. He said he lodged complaint with PS Westridge but so far the SHO had not filed the case. He said that CPO and SP were also not listening to his maladies.
Two unknown robbers snatched a purse from wife of Ijaz Satti containing cash, gold and mobile phone outside Muzafar Plaza at Misrial Road on December 20, 2013 when she was there for buying clothes. Unfortunately, police refused to accept the application of the victim lady.
She appealed to CJP to take notice of the negligence of police.
A young medical representative was pushed out of the police station by Additional SHO PS Westridge SI Muhammad Abbas in front of this scribe on Thursday who wanted to file a case against two robbers who snatched his mobile phone and bag from him at China Hospital.
The situation in the jurisdiction of PS Race Course is also worst as the armed robbers killed three people in 10 days during house robberies while police have totally failed to control the situation.
ASP Cannt Circle Capt (Retd) Bilal Iftikhar, when approached, expressed his complete unawareness abut happening of these crimes in his circle.
Rather, he termed the unemployment in the country a reason being the swell in street crimes. He vowed to control crime rate in his area soon.