BATTAGRAM: Residents have complained about a surge in thefts here and said such incidents had left their movable assets vulnerable.

They said while car hijacking incidence was rising, robbers were also taking away power transformers, cables, motorcycles and cattle.

The residents claimed that power transformer robbers had spared no village.

They said bikes were frequently stolen from the main bazaar along the Karakoram Highway in broad daylight.

Insist robbers taking away power transformers, cables

Recently, a car was stolen near the Battagram city police station but it wasn’t recovered.

The people raised questions about the police’s performance and wondered how thieves could easily steal movable properties and escape the district without being caught.

Resident Sher Mohammad told Dawn that his car was stolen near the Battagram city police station on Dec 15 but the police had not recovered the vehicle yet.

In another case, a car stolen from the Battagram colony area remained untraced.

Residents told Dawn that their bikes were stolen from the main bazaar in the broad daylight.

They complained when they reported the incidents to police, their cases were noted on plain paper instead of the registration of proper FIRs.

Bike owners insisted that the police were reluctant to register FIRs, as it would reflect poorly on their performance.

Chairman of the Chapargram village council Shaukat Hayat said the theft of transformers and electricity cables were rampant in every village council in the district. He suspected the involvement of Pesco officials in those “technical” thefts.

Earlier, police officials claimed to have installed security cameras and established a control room in the police lines to monitor the main bazaar and other areas. However, theft cases continue to rise.

When contacted, DPO Mohammad Ayaz said he was aware of transformer thefts and that a gang of robbers was busted in Kuzabanda and CPEC route adjacent areas a few months ago.

He said a police team had recovered transformer coils and other stolen items.

“Transformer theft is a technical crime, so the gang must have got technical support,” he said.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2025