KARACHI, June 27: Sindh Home Minister Rauf Siddiqi has said that IGP, CCPO Karachi, RPOs, DPOs and TPOs have been directed to hold fortnightly press briefings to keep people informed about the law and order situation and details regarding crimes.

One-sided reports in the media give rise to misunderstandings among people about police which needs to be addressed, he stated this while addressing a crowded press conference at his office here on Tuesday.

He said that he summoned a meeting of all the police officers and concerned government organisations besides representatives of private mobile companies to discuss matters for redressal of public complaints regarding snatching and stealing of mobile telephones.

He said in the previous government, on an average, 300 mobile telephones used to be snatched or stolen daily while the number of such cases had come down to 45 on an average and of them 16 mobile telephones were snatched and rest stolen or went missing. He said these too would be controlled with further strict measures.

He said all cellphone users had been informed through SMS that in case their mobile was snatched, the IMEI number be immediately conveyed to the CPLC for closure of telephone and rendering the set irreparable for anyone.

Rauf Siddiqi said that strict legal action had also been ordered against accused committing assault on women and children.

In this regard, immediate notice was taken of the registered cases, the applications and the news appearing in the print and electronic media. He said that he had also directed his office to keep watch on such reports so that these kinds of inhuman acts did not take place.

The home minister also referred to his directives for action against vehicles and motorcycles with illegal fancy number plates while traffic police officials throughout Sindh had been instructed to also check such private vehicles using prohibited police stickers, hooters, sirens and blue emergency lights.

He said that Sindh Police Hospital, too, was being equipped with modern medical facilities on priority basis.

Highlighting the police performance, Rauf Siddiqi informed that overall 140 terrorists wanted in sectarian and heinous cases were arrested. Of them 89 were convicted by courts and 40 of them given death sentence and 49 awarded life term while investigation in remaining cases was continuing.

He told journalists that 51 persons were kidnapped for ransom out of which 45 were recovered without payment of ransom and search for remaining was on.

In 2006, he said that 3,200 motorcycles and other vehicles were snatched out of which 1,520 motorcycles and other vehicles were recovered and 19 culprits arrested red-handed along with recovery of illegal arms.

During the last six months, he said that 868 narcotic cases were registered in which 1,032 accused arrested along with recovery of over 85kg heroin, over six maunds of charas, over 12,000 bottles of liquor and 53kg opium from their possession.

He said that during this period, 619 police encounters took place in which 38 dacoits were killed, 1,930 culprits were arrested and 158 gangs were busted. In these encounters, 25 police officials and personnel sacrificed their lives and 47 were injured, he informed the journalists adding that 1,480 different arms and ammunition, over 50,000 metre fuse wire and 425kg explosives were recovered during encounters.—APP