GUJRAT, Jan 11: Residents of Gujrat have expressed their grave concern over the fresh wave of heinous crime during the first 10 days of 2005.

A survey carried out by this correspondent revealed that the district witnessed increase in the number of incidents of crime in the last 10 days compared to the situation in the last days of December last when preparations were under way to accord welcome to President Gen Pervez Musharraf.

The new year did not prove better, as on Jan 2, former MNA Syed Manzoor Husain Shah along with three aides - Ashraf Dar, Ghulam Ali and Iqbal - was shot dead in an ambush by 12 people over enmity. The incident took place near Theekrian in Lalamusa.

The next day, a servant of PML MNA Rahman Naseer Marala was murdered under mysterious circumstances at his (the MNA's) outhouse in Kharian. Later, dacoits plundered cash and valuables from the house of MNA's close relative Chaudhry Saqib.

The survey also revealed that more than 25 incidents of dacoities, motorcycle snatching and theft took place in Gujrat in the last 10 days. Four dacoits stormed into expatriate Nadeem Babar's house at Dhoria (Kharian) and took away cash and gold ornaments worth Rs500,000.

In another incident, councillor Chaudhry Azam was deprived of his motorcycle (GTD-3186), a cell phone and Rs20,000 in cash by four robbers on the Malka Road in Kharian.

On Monday last, three armed men looted around Rs2million in cash from the National Saving Centre on the Jinnah Road in Gujrat. They also injured gunman Abdul Ghafoor for putting up resistance. People have demanded that the government should direct the police to control lawlessness.

BAILIFF: A bailiff of the sessions court on Tuesday recovered a man from the Lalamusa Saddar police station, who had been picked up by police for interrogation in connection with the murder of former MNA Syed Manzoor Husain Shah.