LAHORE: Mrs Asif Raza parked her silver car outside her house in Wapda Town on Aug 17 morning to wash the porch when two gunmen riding a motorcycle stopped by and ordered her to hand them over the keys. In a minute, the car (LEA-13/1940) was gone.

The Sattukatla police registered a robbery case into the robbery on the complaint of Mr Raza.

Police are still looking for clues in their search for the stolen car.

The case shows the glaring incompetence of the police.

Mr Raza told Dawn though they had provided the footage of the incident, captured on their neighbours’ surveillance camera, to police, still there was no breakthrough in the case.

He said whenever they visited the police, they would get the same answer that they were trying to enlarge the images to identify the robbers.Mr Raza is losing hope about the retrieval of his car. He is not alone whose case is gathering dust despite the availability of CCTV footage of the incident.

Same is the case of Inayat Traders’ owners, whose cashier was mugged by two gunmen at the shop in the Naulakha last week. In the incident, Rs1 million was looted.

The nearby traders succeeded to capture one of the fleeing robbers. Though the CCTV footage of the absconding robber was provided to them, police have yet to trace the gunman.

These two incidents show how police have failed to utilise footage to resolve the cases of robberies and theft.

Mr Raza said he thought the public thought that they had provided vital evidence but still policemen were unable to use it properly.

This also shows that Punjab government’s much touted Punjab Safe City Authority project would be just a waste of money.

Under the project, more than 8,000 cameras were installed on different city roads but the police have yet to use them properly. Besides the Safe City Project, the capital city police had started a special Anti-Vehicle Lifting Squad (AVLS) in all six divisions of the city to stem vehicle thefts, but it did not help the people to recover their vehicles.

The AVLS is working without a regular superintendent of police (SP). Its interim charge was given to SSP Imran Yaqoob.

According to data, 3,876 vehicles, including motorcycles, were snatched and taken away in last seven months in Lahore city division alone. Up to 707 vehicles were snatched and taken away from Cantonment Division, 854 City Division, 364 Iqbal Town, 611 Model Town and 841 Saddar Division. Of them, nine cars were snatching at gunpoint and 377 others stolen; up to 181 motorcycles were snatched at gunpoint and 3,061 others stolen. Three other vehicles were snatched at gunpoint and 245 taken away from different areas of the city.

Saddar Division AVLS in charge Mehdi Hassan Bhatti told Dawn that they had received the footage and pictures of the Wapda Town car snatching incident and forwarded it to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA).

He said they were waiting for the PFSA report, adding that the PFSA report would be forwarded to the National Database and Registration Authority for the identification of the robbers.

ROBBERY: A Shahdara Town was broken into by two gunmen and cash and jewellery stolen on Saturday.

The robbers, carrying a backpack full of weapons, first introduced themselves as students. Later, they held a minor girl of family hostage, used her as shield and tried to flee on a motorcycle. The local residents chased them and gunfight ensued.

In the exchange of fires, one gunman and one passerby, identified as Iftikhar, suffered bullet wounds. Residents captured the injured robber and handed him over to the police.

City Division Superintendent of Police (SP) Adil Memon said that they had arrested both robbers who were identified as Adnan and Qiaser.

He said that they were proclaimed offenders and involved in five robberies in Baghbanpura area.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2017