RAHIM YAR KHAN: Police operations in the Katcha area (junction of three provinces -- Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan where borders of Rahim Yar Khan, Rajanpur, Ghotki and Kashmore meet) along the river Indus date back to many years ago.

Kidnap for ransom started in different areas of Rahim Yar Khan after 2010 and mostly the kidnapped persons were returned after paying ransom to notorious gangs of katcha area.

Chothu Mazari (Chothu Bakhrani), Saltu Shar, Jan Muhammad and Khan Muhammad Indhar gangs are notorious in the area. In 2011, then DPO Sohail Habib Tajik launched a grand police operation and got control of different islands in the Indus that were hideouts of gangs.

In 2013, the Chothu Bakhrani gang kidnapped Dr Khan Wazir, his son and driver for Rs10 million ransom. In July that year, the gang also killed a policeman and held eight policemen hostage.

The dacoits offered release of the policemen, the doctor, his son and driver in return of release of three gangsters the Rahim Yar Khan police had arrested. A police operation was conducted but it proved futile.

PML-N MPA Atif Mazari and DPO Sohail Zafar Chattha got the policemen released after negotiations with the gang. Later, 56 or so dacoits of Chothu Bakhrani gang left the area.

In 2014 after a conflict between two tribes of Katcha area near Bhong, the Rahim Yar Khan police again started the operation at a time when wheat harvesting was in full swing. Some local residents alleged that the actual reason behind the operation was to collect the wheat crop worth millions cultivated by ‘criminals’ in the bed of the Indus.

When seven policemen were kidnapped by gangsters this past May 4, some sources of the katcha area said it was fabricated as all the policemen were posted at Camp 2 a day earlier. The police of Rahim Yar Khan and Ghotki once again launched an operation against criminals in which police used gunship helicopters.

The Sindh police disclosed the next day that the policemen had been recovered but the Rahim Yar Khan police came up with the news in a press release the next day (May 6). Police claimed that they killed 13 dacoits but did not show a single dead body.

A local journalist of Guddu area claimed that the seven policemen had been recovered owing to intervention of influential landlords and politicians.

According to a source, there was no kidnapping and the Rahim Yar Khan police demanded that Jan Muhammad and Khan Muhammad Indhir gangs (who left the criminal activities two years ago) help the police arrest Chothu Bakhrani. When they refused to help the police, DPO Sohail Zafar Chattha started an operation on the pretext of kidnap of policemen.

The DPO did not attend his mobile phone despite repeated attempts by this correspondent.

The PRO to DPO said in a press release on Wednesday that police regained control of Indhir Fort which had been under the occupation of gangsters, and recovered heavy arms. He said the operation had spread from Rahim Yar Khan to Sukkur and police would restore the law and order situation in the region.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2015

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