19 February 2004	Thursday	27 Zilhaj 1424

KARACHI, Feb 18: In a nine-hour-long operation in Jehanabad locality of Pak Colony on Wednesday, police conducted house-to-house search after cordoning off the area and arrested seven members of a notorious gang.

A sizable quantity of arms, ammunition and stolen goods was recovered during the operation, police claimed. The TPO of Site, ASP Imran Shaukat, who led the operation, told Dawn that initially the operation had been launched by the Site police. However, the gangsters offered stiff resistance by resorting to heavy shooting which prompted the authorities to call out reinforcement.

On the orders of the DIG Operations, eight additional mobiles and a strong contingent of 80 police personnel clad in bullet-proof jackets, were dispatched to join in the operation, the TPO said.

One of those arrested was Hamid, brother of Arshad alias Pappoo. The TPO recalled that on February 13, Hamid had been arrested by the Site police in a 13-D case and given in jail custody. Later, he was released on bail.

The other alleged criminals arrested during the operation have been identified as Sarwar, Mohammad Aslam, Sharif, Amir alias Imran, Mohammad Zafar and Ghulam Qadir.

Police claimed that all of them belonged to the Pappoo gang. ASP Shaukat also identified Mohammad Aslam as a close associate of Arshad Pappoo.

According to the TPO, the goods recovered during the operation were two pistols, 200 live SMG rounds, a chassis number punching machine, two motorcycles, one jeep and 110 bags of nuts and bolts which were stolen from a godown in Site recently.

On February 16, police in a raid had arrested two members of the same gang following the recovery of unlicensed weapons and ammunition besides and had also unearthed a torture cell in Jehanabad.

Those arrested were identified as Saeed alias Commando and Ghulam Hussain. The raid had also led to the recovery of an official Klashnikov, one repeater gun, four TT pistols, one 0.22 bore pistol, and big quantity of ammunition.

"Both the suspects are accomplices of Arshad Pappoo," ASP Shaukat said. According to him, Saeed Commando was wanted in 16 criminal cases and appeared to be an active member of the gang, believed to be involved in kidnapping for ransom cases and drug supply.

He said that the torture cell, from where an axe, a dagger, a shovel, bar-fetters, ropes, hooks and a binocular were recovered, used to be operated by the arrested gangsters.