RAWALPINDI: Shopkeepers staged a protest on Monday against robberies in Sadiqabad and demanded police protection.

The protesters gathered at Sadiqabad Chowk at 12:40pm and blocked traffic.

Several shopkeepers were deprived of cash by gunmen during robberies in the area on Monday.

Angry protesters raised slogans against the police and set old tyres on fire. They demanded police highups to provide security as they claimed that they could not open their shops due to fear of being robbed.

According to reports, four robbers went on a rampage on Monday, striking a mobile phone shop, a poultry medicine shop and a bakery.

The robbers also fired gunshots while fleeing which spread fear in the area.

Following the protest, a large number of police personnel led by SHO reached the site and dispersed the protesters after assuring them of police protection and arrest of the culprits.

Later, the protesters dispersed peacefully at about 2pm.

Earlier on Friday, Regional Police Officer Fayyaz Ahmed Dev had claimed that the police had busted several criminal gangs.

The RPO also warned criminals either to stop or leave the region. “They must know, we will hunt them down,” he said.

If one looks at the crime situation in the last month of the outgoing year, there had been 45 armed robberies compared to the 31 reported in Dec 2017.

Besides, two incidents of car and 12 incidents of motorcycle snatching at gunpoint were reported in the current month compared to five in the same month last year.

Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2019