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LAHORE, Aug 25: Robbers continued targeting jewellery traders on Saturday, plundering impure gold bars worth Rs2.95 million from a gold test and refine laboratory situated at Soha Bazaar in Rang Mahal.
It was the third gold heist in the city in the last few days. Earlier, a gang of 15 robbers deprived six jewellers of Rs20 million worth of jewellery and cash at Chowk Yateem Khana main bazaar on Aug 22 and the investigation police, especially the Crime Investigation Agency, remain clueless about the robbers.
The very next day (on Thursday), four robbers took away 32kg gold from goldsmith Humayun Latif, a resident of Eden Villas, in the North Cantonment police precinct. According to the FIR, the gold was worth Rs41.5 million and the robbers also drove away with the victim’s car.
In Saturday’s strike, two robbers looted 2.95kg impure gold bars from Rasheed Khuda Bakhsh Gold Laboratory, owned by Haji Muhammad Rasheed, after holding up two employees, witnesses told Dawn.
The incident took place around 7am in a narrow alley when the jewellery shops are normally closed, but the gold refine laboratories work.
Local jewellers and traders, led by the All-Punjab Gold Test & Refine Laboratories Lahore, held a demonstration to protest against the incident and demanded arrest of the culprits.
Abdul Basit, son of Haji Rasheed, told this reporter on the spot that two youngsters came to their rented laboratory situated on the third floor and knocked at the door. On an inquiry by Ghulam Mustafa and Nadeem, who were refining gold, the visitors sought drinking water, Basit quoted Mustafa as having said, adding that the employees refused and asked them to arrange water from any other place.
“The armed men turned up again after 15 minutes and knocked at the door after switching off the door light. As Mustafa opened the door, two gangsters stormed the place and took away raw gold after locking the employees in the room and thrashing them.
Basit further said Mustafa, however, broke open the lock and together with some passersby alarmed by his shrieks chased the criminals, but to no avail.
Later, local traders gathered in the bazaar and protested against the poor law and order situation.
Abbas Qureshi, a member of the gold test association, told Dawn that hardly a month ago robbers had taken away 2.7kg impure gold from Ahmed Gold Test Laboratory at the same bazaar. He said hundreds of gold testing laboratories were operating in the bazaar which also had even more number of jewellery shops.
According to him, one robbery or theft incident had become a routine in a month in the bazaar, but the Rang Mahal police had not taken any solid measure to provide security cover to the traders. He said the shopkeepers had jointly hired some security guards who performed duty till 6am.
About police patrolling in the congested bazaar, he said, the officials hardly visited the market.
“We are called for VVIP and major law and order duties and do not perform local security duty,” Abbas Qureshi quoted police officials as having said.
The police registered a case showing a loss of Rs2.95 million on the complaint of Haji Rasheed.
PROTEST CAMP: Traders and jewellers of the Chowk Yateem Khana main bazaar set up a protest camp on the second consecutive day on Saturday.
According to a press release issued by the Lahore Division Sarafa and Jewellers Association, the victim jewellers and protesters raised slogans against the police for not arresting the culprits.
Association chairman Muhammad Ahmad regretted that the jewellers were being targeted according to a plan and the police, instead of protecting life and property of citizens, were protecting government high-ups and politicians.
Meanwhile, a delegation of victim jewellers and office-bearers of different associations, led by Jamaat-i-Islami MNA Fareed Piracha, called on the capital city police officer. The CCPO informed the victims that the police were using all available resources to arrest the culprits and were “close to reaching them”.
The CCPO, it is learnt, sent for the Nanwakot SPO and SHO at his office and admonished them over lawlessness. He directed them to trace the gold plunderers at the earliest and recover the loss of victims.
The next protest camp would be set up tomorrow (Monday), the press release said, but an emergency meeting of the Lahore Division Sarafa Association was being called today (Sunday) to review the ongoing pace of police investigation and deicide a future course of action.
