PESHAWAR, April 14: There has been a sharp increase in incidents of robbery by criminals disguised as policemen in the city and senior police officials admit they have little success in busting the gangs involved. Ever since March 1, robbers have looted four houses. They pretended to be on the lookout for Al Qaeda and Taliban suspects in each of the premises.

On the night of April 2, some 25 people disguised as police entered a big compound which has houses of five Afghan brothers in the Badhber locality of Telaband village. They told the family elder, Haji Zafar Khan, who is an Afghan trader, that they wanted to search his house as they believed some Al Qaeda or Taliban members had taken refuge there during the night. Soon the robbers took out their concealed weapons and tied Mr Zafar’s entire family with ropes. Within two hours they collected cash and other valuables from the five brothers.

According to the family, the robbers collected Rs1.3 million in cash, Rs850,000 worth of jewellery, six cellular phones, two original documents of cars, and a passport containing a British visa.

Talking about the gang of 25 robbers, Investigation Inspector Sohrab Khan said, “We are still investigating and soon they will be arrested.”

It is believed that the same robbers struck thrice last month.

In the beginning of March, some unidentified dacoits disguised as Frontier Constabulary personnel looted Rs1.7 million and jewellery from the house of one Javed Khan in Amjadabad, near the Karkhano Bazaar.

The Nasirbagh police station did not register a case and denied having any knowledge about the occurrence of a robbery.

In the second week of March, some five robbers disguised as police entered a house in Daudzai in the Bunyadi village and stole cash, jewellery and other valuables.

On March 18, about 11 dacoits disguised as police entered a house on the Warsak Road and stole valuables. The house is owned by the son-in-law of Karamat Ali Rizvi, deputy secretary in the finance department.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Investigation, Badr Farrukh, while talking to this correspondent, said: “Yes, it is true. Incidents of robberies with the robbers or dacoits wearing police uniforms have increased. However, we have found a clue to the group involved in the crime and soon they will be brought to justice.”

The SSP said that the trend of crimes by robbers disguised as police was nothing new as in the past many gangs used to commit crimes in the same way. But these types of incidents seem to have been increasing since March.

He said that they had interrogated many people after the last robbery and soon the gang would be exposed.