Cricket star Hassan Ali’s mother was allegedly mugged on Wednesday in Gujranwala, a senior police official told Dawn.com.

Incidents of snatchings by armed suspects are commonplace nationwide.

According to a statement from Gujranwala City Police Officer Muhammad Ayaz Saleem’s office, Hassan’s mother was waiting on the road for her other son, Khurram to pick her up to take her to the bazaar.

“A robber snatched her purse and fled the scene,” the CPO said. “Khurram Ali said that the purse contained Rs230,000.”

The CPO added that a case had been registered and sought a report from Gujranwala Safe City. According to a copy of the first information report — seen by Dawn.com — the unidentified suspect were charged under Sections 356 (assault or criminal force in attempt to commit theft of property carried by a person) and 379 (punishment for theft) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

“Police teams have been formed under the supervision of SP (superintendent of police) City Division to arrest the suspect,” CPO Saleem said. “Geo-fencing and CCTV footage from the scene of the incident is being obtained.

“The suspect will be arrested quickly and will receive exemplary punishment,” Saleem added.

The police are taking steps to combat rising incidents of theft and violent crime.

Earlier this month, the Punjab police’s e-Gadget Monitoring System, which was developed with the help of the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB), proved effective in tracking down and recovering stolen or lost mobile phones of citizens, necessitating equipping the police with more such technology rather than investigating crime on traditional lines.

Police were able to recover over 100 mobile phones using the e-Gadget app when the criminals tried to sell them at throwaway prices on the black market.