RAHIM YAR KHAN: South Punjab Additional Inspector General (Operations) Sahibzada Sultan says the police have deployed more force for maintaining law and order in the Katcha area.

He was addressing a press conference, accompanied by DPO Rizwan Umar Gondal and SP Arslan here on Saturday.

Mr Sultan said 1,329 personnel had been deployed in the jurisdiction of four affected police stations.

“Over the last six months, we have conducted 81 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) and arrested 43 criminals and their 185 facilitators. We have also eliminated 21 kidnappers, recovered 81 abductees and foiled 122 honey-trap attempts.”

The AIG said unfortunately a life of a police officer had been lost and eight others had sustained injuries in the line of duty but the police gained significant ground in the Katcha area by clearing a total of 15,100 occupied acres and 97,000 affected acres in Bhong, Machka, Kot Sabzal and Abadpur.

“Our officers are working tirelessly to ensure the safety and security of the people in the Katcha area,” he claimed.

Answering the questions, Mr Sultan said the biggest challenge to counter the criminals was geography of the Katcha area and during the last many operations, police had learned lessons.

The AIG said that robbers’ gangs would get active in the Kacha area every time the priorities of government changed.

DPO Gondal said on March 21, four commuters were kidnapped and two hurt when Sher Gang outlaws entered the Sukkur-Multan Motorway (M-5) but the area was in the limits of the Ghotki district of Sindh province. However, he claimed, the Rahim Yar Khan police were coordinating with the Ghotki police for the arrest of criminals.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2023