January 12, 2007	Friday	Zilhaj 21, 1427

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TAXILA, Jan 11: The local police claimed to have busted a six-member gang of criminals involved in more than 14 cases of robbery and attempted murder in the Punjab province.

District Police Officer (DPO) Saud Aziz, speaking at a press conference in Wah Cantonment police station on Thursday, said the gang operated throughout the Rawalpindi district.

Those arrested were identified as Syed Rasool (ring leader of Afghan origin), Yaseen, Hashim, Nadeem, Rafaqat and Aurangzeb.

The DPO said the accused, including two Afghan nationals, had so far confessed to 14 crimes — 10 theft cases, one armed robbery and three dacoity cases.

The gang was active in different rural and urban areas of Taxila, Wah Cantonment and Hattar for the last two years.

According to Mr Aziz, it also committed a dacoity in Bewal village of Gujjar Khan tehsil and decamped with 50,000 British pounds, Rs75,000, gold ornaments and other valuables.

The robbers also shot and injured a woman in Losar Sharfoo in the jurisdiction of Wah Cantonment police station during a failed dacoity. Food and other daily-use items looted in strikes on departmental stores were later sold by the culprits to a shopkeeper in Gujar Khan.

Six pistols and a number of rounds had been from the culprits’ possession.

The police officer was hopeful that further interrogation would reveal the involvement of these outlaws in other cases also.

Meanwhile, the DPO said the police made a break through in the Wednesday’s encounter with highwaymen and arrested another gang member identified as Zaheenuddin Shenwari. A latest model car (RLD-979) in which the culprits tried to escape had also been recovered.

He said preliminary investigations showed that three other outlaws — Ehsanullah , Safatullah and Gul Zaman — were on the run.