MANSEHRA, Oct 2: Mansehra SSP Ehsan Tufail has claimed that the district police during the last nine months have made concerted efforts for curbing the crimes, and have considerably brought down the crime rate in the area. This was stated by him at a briefing in his office here on Wednesday.

He said a total of 2,494 cases had been registered in the nine months last year and this year a total of 2,368 cases were registered during the corresponding period — a difference of 126 cases.

The SSP said a total of 50 murder cases had been registered in the nine months last year and 37 murder cases were registered this year during the same period — a difference of 13 cases.

During the last nine months, he claimed, a total of 132 proclaimed offenders were arrested in different raids, who included the notorious and hardened criminals like Mohammad Sadiq of Danna and Mohammad Fayaz of Darwaza in the jurisdiction of Phulra police station.

The police, he further said, had recovered 19 Kalashnikov rifles, 76 rifles of different bores, 115 shotguns of 12 bore, 198 pistols and revolvers, three magazines, 85 bullets and 3,825 cartridges from the criminals during the last nine months.

SSP Ehsan Tufail said in a drive against narcotics, the district police had recovered 84 kilograms of hashish, 812 grams of heroin, seven kilograms of raw opium and 320 bottles of liquor during the last nine months.