CHITRAL: The police arrested pickpockets in Chitral city and returned the stolen money to the owners after recovering it from their possession.

An official of the city police station told Dawn that due to the increasing number of the incidents of pickpocketing in the urban area, they had started monitoring the suspected persons through the command and control room established in the district police lines.

He said that after initial search, footage of the CCTV cameras was analysed focusing on a few people and finally found clues to the members of a gang, who had arrived here recently in the garb of tourists.

The official said that the culprits were rounded up by the policemen after chasing them in plainclothes in different locations of the city.

The gang leaders, he said, were identified as Baber Abbas and Aqeel Khan, who belonged to Sheikhupura district of Punjab, who confessed to their activities during investigation.

The money stolen by them in Chitral was recovered and returned to the owners after proper verifications.

The culprits were sent to the judicial lock-up after cases were registered against under the relevant sections of law.

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2025