TOBA TEK SINGH: The police have initiated a crackdown against professional beggars and drug addicts across the Faisalabad region aimed at reducing traffic disruption, crime and improving the safety of citizens.

A press release issued by the office of RPO Sohail Akhtar Sukhera on Saturday said that more than 2,800 beggars and drug addicts had been detained from around bus stands, railway stations, important squares, markets and educational institutions.

It said that the detainees included 1,164 men, 936 women, 237 transgenders and 478 minors. Cases had been registered against 500 beggars, drug addicts and their facilitators, it added.

Young children, disabled people and destitute women caught during the operation had been shifted to the Edhi Home, Child Protection Bureau and other shelter homes, it added.

ARRESTED: An alleged drug dealer was critically injured and arrested by the Crime Control Department (CCD) in Gojra on Friday night.

A police official said that inspector Faryad Ali Cheema was leading a CCD party near Ambanwali Puli outside Chak 354 JB when cops signalled two suspects on a motorcycle to stop. However, they attempted to escape and slipped. As a result, one suspect was injured, while the other managed to flee, the official claimed.

The wounded suspect was shifted to the Gojra THQ Hospital and was identified as Iftikhar Ahmad and 1,500 grams of hashish was recovered from him, police claimed.

GOLD STOLEN: A man was allegedly deprived of gold worth more than Rs8 million in a bus travelling from Gujjar Khan to Faisalabad.

Faisalabad People’s Colony Police said that they received information about the case from the Allied Hospital on Friday night where one Rana Asghar Shahid was shifted to the hospital by Rescue 1122 from the bus terminal.

Asghar claimed that he was on way to Faisalabad by bus and near Chakri he offered a biscuit to an unidentified fellow traveller. Later, the man also offered him a biscuit which he ate. As a result, Asghar claimed that he became unconscious. He claimed that during his unconsciousness, the man took away his gold.

The police report said that no verification could be done as the incident occurred near Chakri and the victim had been advised to contact the police station concerned for the registration of a case.

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2025