PESHAWAR, Sept 21: Elders belonging to the Rustam village, Mardan district, have complained of lack of security and inefficiency of police. They have asked inspector general of police, NWFP, to take action against local police to check theft cases in the area.

Talking to reporters at the Peshawar Press Club here on Tuesday, they said that thieves had become albatross around the necks of the area residents. For the last one month, the residents were having sleepless nights because of a large number of theft cases occurring in the area, they said.

The thieves usually strike at night while police act as silent spectators, they lamented. "We have complained of this situation to the SHO of Rustam police station but to no avail," they said. "He isn't interested in solving the problem," they charged.

The thieves have deprived several people of their belongings, including large sums in cash, they said. "We do our business in the day and pass the night on the rooftops of our houses. Many people are even afraid of going to mosques for Esha prayers," they said.

Shaukat Khan, the SHO of the area, told Dawn that he was short of staff and could not depute police to every hamlet. He said that nobody had registered an FIR against the thieves so far, so he could not initiate action against anybody.

The elders, on the other hand, are of the opinion that if they registered an FIR, police would arrest the near and dear ones of the complainants. That was why they had chosen to appeal the province's governor, CM and IGP to order local police to act against the thieves on their own, they said.