12 January 2004	Monday	19 Ziqa'ad 1424

KARACHI, Jan 11: On an average one robbery was committed every three hours in the metropolis during the year 2003, as 3,834 cases of different robberies and thefts were reported, according to the official statistics.

A 6.34 per cent rise was noticed in the robberies and theft incidence in the metropolis during the year 2003 as compared to the year 2002, the data shows. The statistics further show that 3,834 cases of robberies, theft and burglaries were reported last year as compared to 3,591 cases in the year 2002. The figures do not include the snatching and theft incidents of cars and motorcycles which stood at 9,069 in the year 2003.

The statistics show that the total number of robberies and theft incidents including robberies, car/motorcycle snatching, wire theft, cycle theft, etc., stood at 13,825 cases, which shows that every two hours three persons were robbed.

In the data of the police, different heads of dacoity and robberies have been shown as the petrol pump dacoity, the petrol pump robbery, the house dacoity and the house robbery, the shop dacoity and the shop robbery, etc, which cannot be understood by a robbery victim. The practice is meant to lessen the intensity of the crimes on paper.

The data shows two heads as other dacoities (90) and other robberies (1,222). There is no mention of street robberies or dacoities. Hundreds of people were robbed of their cash and belongings on different streets by muggers. Most of them, who did not lose their identity documents, did not register FIRs. Those who went to police stations for registration of FIRs were not dealt with properly and majority of them remained deprived of their cash and belongings.

It is a common complaint that victims of robberies are repeatedly called by the investigation police for identification of suspects. People believe that robbers trouble them only once, and if an FIR is registered, police become a constant trouble for them.

The data compiled by police is based on FIRs registered at different police stations in the city. The cases that went unregistered have not been included in the statistics. In many cases police noted down a complaint into their roznamcha (daily diary) and did not convert it into an FIR.

The police authorities claim that FIR forms have been made available at various post offices and people can get the forms, fill them out and send them to police stations. However, most post offices do not have the forms and some of them ask a complainant to make 10 photocopies of a form before taking it.

A complainant, whose motorbike was stolen, went to a police station where he was refused an FIR. However, according to the police spokesman on Dec 1, 2003, the chassis of the stolen motorbike was recovered from two young boys who had picked it from a garbage heap in front of Ziauddin Hospital.

The spokesman said the complainant made a settlement with the parents of these youngsters who paid Rs4,000 each to the complainant. Subsequently the complainant insisted on lodging an FIR which was delivered at his doorstep.

Some police officials were contacted for the expert opinion on the case. They said there was no room for settlement in theft cases as it was not a matter of dispute between two parties. The suspects should have been arrested and challaned in a court as only a court could decide if they were innocent. It is illegal for police to release suspects after forcing them to make payments to the complainants.

The experts said the FIR should have been registered instantly and not on the insistence of the complainant. If police believed the two youngsters were suspects they should have been arrested, and if not, why they were forced to make the payment, the experts wondered.

The sources revealed that police had taken Rs10,000 each from the youngsters for their release and the complainant was also forced to receive money. The complainant is still running from pillar to post to get his recovered chassis back from police custody.