KOHAT: As many as 1,801 proclaimed offenders (POs), including 295 Afghan refugees, are wanted by the Kohat district police for whose arrest a new software is being used.

The Lachi tehsil is on top among the local areas with 238 POs, according to record of all the offenders available with the special cell where their data has been preserved in criminal verification system.

Among others, 135 fugitives are hiding in the adjacent tribal areas for years, 90 POs in Orakzai Agency, four in Khyber Agency, 29 in Kurram Agency, four in Waziristan Agency and 10 in the Jawaki, Darra Adamkhel and Shindand localities of Frontier Region of Kohat.

The number of POs wanted by different police stations is; 967 by cantonment police station, 48 by city, 49 by Junglekhel, 101 by Bilitang, 64 by Gumbat, 97 by Jarma, one by KDA Town, 238 by Lachi, 66 by Ustarzai, 28 by Shakardarra and 143 by Mohammad Riaz Shaheed police station.

When contacted, district police officer Abbas Majeed Marwat said that monthly operations were being conducted for the arrest of these POs. He said the checkposts of police and army on the Rawalpindi, Bannu, Hangu and Peshawar roads had the modern software which traced people’s bio data and in this way many POs had been arrested. He said that every month 30 to 40 of the offenders were being arrested.

Meanwhile, the district police officer on Friday sent the whole staff of Muslimabad checkpost at Indus Highway to the police lines and ordered inquiry against them following complaints of corruption and misuse of power by them.

A statement issued here said that the DPO had been receiving reports that the said staff was minting money from truckers and other people and detaining them illegally.

TREE PLANTATION: The district agricultural department asking for allocation of special funds has demanded of the district council to provide it with a water pump and machinery for levelling of the fruit nursery. District agriculture department director Zahirullah Khattak made the demand while speaking after launch of the tree plantation campaign by district nazim Naseem Afridi here on Friday.

Published in Dawn, February 10th, 2018