The government has imposed curfew at the Punjab riverine area on Saturday as the operation against the Chhotu gang reached its nineteenth day.
The curfew will continue from 9:00 am till 1:00 pm on Saturday at Kacha Shah Wali, Kacha Soon Miyani and Kacha Jamal, DCO Zohair Hassan Gujjar said.
He added that the 24 police personnel held hostage by the gang are safe. Till yesterday police claimed that only 18 police officers had been held hostage.
Rangers have established check posts in the area. Over 200 men from the army have also been called in to help the police.
After the Chhotu gang captured 22 policemen on Wednesday, the operation was temporarily suspended as Punjab IG Mushtaq Sukhera said that recovering the policemen was their first priority.
The Chhotu Gang, which operates in the border areas of Sindh and Punjab, released four injured police officers on Thursday.
Police and the gang are separated by a 1.5 kilometer side stream of the River Indus, which has to be covered on boats. The gangsters shoot them down as they try crossing the river, a source said.
Sources said that the gang has stocked several days of food and is armed with heavy ammunition.
At least seven policemen and four gangsters have been killed in the operation so far.
This is not the first time an operation against the Chhotu gang has been launched by the police. Earlier in 2010 and 2015 similar operation were launched against the gang, but without any results.
