GUJAR KHAN: Robbers continued to strike in the limits of the police stations of Gujar Khan, Madra and Jatli with impunity as police remained unsuccessful to curb the crime.

Robberies, thefts, street crime and burglaries have surged manifold in these areas and a wave of fear and insecurity has taken over the residents of Gujar Khan as police’s performance to arrest the suspects and recover looted valuables remained below the mark.

Kaneez Fatima, a resident of Lahore, told Gujar Khan police that she and her two sisters were government employees and posted to Gujar Khan. When they went to Lahore on Eid holidays, burglars broke into their house and took away seven tola gold jewellery worth Rs800,000, a laptop and dresses worth Rs100,000. She said in February, two mobile phones worth Rs85,000 and Rs20,000 cash had been stolen from their house but no action could be taken so far.

Gujar Khan police registered the case on July 14 but no action could be taken so far.

Afshan Khalid, a resident of Ward No 8, reported to the Gujar Khan police that he had parked his motorcycle outside his house at around 1:30pm, but he found it missing after half an hour.

A resident of Laliyani village, Sarfraz Khan, reported to the police that he had parked his motorcycle outside the subway of a shopping centre in Gujar Khan city from where it was stolen.

In other incidents, thieves took away Rs50,000 cash, gold jewellery worth Rs190,000, a LED TV and power backup system worth Rs65,000 from a house in ward No 19 of Gujar Khan city in the absence of the residents.

Similarly, thieves took away a power back-up system, two pistols with licences and a LED TV from ward No 15 in the absence of the residents.

A resident of Gujar Khan reported to the Jatli police that he went to Daultala to visit his relatives and parked his rickshaw outside the house. When he woke up in the morning, his rickshaw worth Rs150,000 was missing.

Similarly, thieves stole Rs170,000 cash, gold jewellery worth Rs350,000 from the house of a Wapda employee in Panjgran village in the limits of Jatli police.

Moreover, valuables worth Rs78,000 were stolen from a tile factory in Raman area of Jatli.

Police stations of Gujar Khan have registered the cases but residents have expressed their dissatisfaction with the police investigations.

A resident of Gujar Khan said sub-inspector level officers were posted as station house officers in Gujar Khan. They said experienced inspectors should be posted for improvement in police performance.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2022