GUJRANWALA, Oct 28: The Gujranwala Chamber of Commerce and Industry has expressed anguish over deteriorating law and order situation and demanded that the district administration and police higher-ups should provide protection to people.

At a meeting held here on Friday, the participants, including chamber senior vice-president Ziaullah Irfani and vice-president Muhammad Anwar Aslam, said gangs of dacoits and robbers had plundered cash and valuables worth hundreds of thousands of rupees from factories and houses of industrialists during the last two weeks.

They deprived chamber former president Sheikh Muhammad Nazim of factory goods worth Rs800,000, besides targeting the houses of trader Sheikh Muhammad Yousaf and other members of the chamber. They said the high incidence of crime had paralyzed the police functioning.

Saying that the business community and investors were doing their jobs in fear, they demanded that the gangsters involved in the recent incidents should be arrested and the public provided security.