LAHORE: Despite various specialized forces formed over the past few years by the Punjab police, statistics tend to show a sharp increase in the crime rate in the province. Murder, theft and dacoity are all included in the list of these heinous crimes, creating a dangerous situation in the country.
Also, there are widespread reports of organized gangs emerging in the province, conducting their criminal activities by impersonating police officers, workers of Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) or as being the workers sent to administer dengue spray in homes. It is said that women are also being used in the crimes to gain access to homes fraudulently.
According to the reliable sources, the statistics collected by the Punjab police from the beginning of 2017 till December 15 of this year, about 3,888 people have lost their precious lives as a result of these crimes. About 526 cases of blind murders were reported, and almost 125 were brutally killed while resisting during various incidents.This included women, children and elderly.
About 665 and 11917 cases of dacoity and stealing were reported respectively. These deprived many citizens of their expensive jewelry, cash, cars, motorcycles and mobile phones. Seven bank robberies in the province, including Lahore, have also been reported so far.
On the condition of anonymity, a senior investigation officer of police told that many are released on bail soon after getting arrested, and restart their criminal activities by forming new gangs.
The officer also accepted that the responsibility of this failure also falls on our shoulders, since the police does not do proper investigation, register a case of theft – a minor crime – where a dacoity – a more serious crime- has taken place.
He also explained that usually a scaled down amount in the First Information Report (FIR) is inserted which is not a true reflection of the loss that the victim had suffered from.
This is the reason, he described, why these criminals find it easy to get a bail from the court.
He also said that this negligence on part of police should be addressed if the crimes in the province are to be reduced.
Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Haider Ashraf has said that the police have arrested dozens of gangs of criminals, and have recovered millions of rupees as a result. Claiming that the incidents of dacoity have measurably decreased in the province he further stated that many police officers have been punished on their negligence.
