LAHORE, Sept 25: A local trader is having sleepless nights after a robbery in his house some two weeks ago for fear of outlaws who, he believes, are well connected.

With his business of printing and publishing suspended for the time being, his children not visiting schools and colleges, Shamsul Alam now plans to move his family out of Lahore so that the culprits could not harm them.

He is not ready to believe assurances by police high-ups and heads of special teams that the culprits, already identified, would be arrested soon.

Alam’s house was robbed by his four tenants — Ruksana, Salman Chand, Saqib and Qamar alias Qamri — on Sept 11 in Nabipura, Gulberg — who had made off with cash, jewellery, prize bonds and other valuables worth Rs20 million.

The printer/publisher said he had furnished photos and addresses of the culprits to the police. “Their cell numbers were also traced but police could not reach them.”

According to Alam, he could not open his five businesses of publishing and marketing of books after the incident as he, along with his elder sons, had been knocking at the doors of police sine then.

“I visit the SSP (investigation) Model Town and the Model Town CIA DSP daily but return with mere assurances,” he said.

“When the police have been conveyed identification and whereabouts of the culprits, why it has not made any progress,” Alam asked while talking to Dawn.

“If the police can trace and arrest unidentified killers of the son of a former LHC chief justice in three days, why does it seem helpless in may case?”

He alleged that the police had also released real estate agent Nadeem Iqbal Masih, who had referred Samar Jan, one of the culprits, to him for accommodation, although his name was in the FIR registered with the Ghalib Market police.

—Muhammad Faisal Ali