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LAHORE, Jan 5: There is a growing sense of insecurity among the general public following a surge in the incidence of robbery and hold-up.
On average, 10 cars are taken away every month. Last year, 128 were hijacked in different parts of the city.
According to the breakdown, most of the cars were hijacked in the jurisdiction of Model Town division police. Sadar, Cantonment and City divisions were the second, third and fourth most affected regions, respectively.
Car-lifting, too, is a menace. Motorists take great risks whenever they park their cars anywhere in the city.
On average, 41 cars are stolen every month. As many as 490 were stolen from different parts of the city last year.
The Model Town division again topped the list. The Sadar division secured second position while Cantonment and City divisions were third and fourth, respectively.
An average of 17 motorcycles were taken away every month in the period under review. The Cantonment division was the most affected region, followed by Model Town, Sadar and City divisions.
Around 1,200 motorcycles were stolen last year.
Besides cars and motorcycles, robbers and thieves managed to take away 213 vehicles of other types from various parts of the city in the last one year. Those included trucks, rickshaws, tractor-trolleys and jeeps.
POLICE ATTITUDE: Besides the increasing sense of insecurity among people, there is another serious problem they face whenever they go to police stations to lodge an FIR.
It has been observed that the police plainly refuse to lodge a report of crime against property. In a car-jacking incident, they become harsher. If a complainant hints at going to the press, the police try to convert a robbery incident into a theft.
What brings more hardships is the process of investigation and recovery, if a complainant is lucky enough to succeed in lodging an FIR.
“We have been instructed to register a case as soon as a complainant approaches us,” a police officer said on condition of anonymity, adding that they were under pressure from high-ups who wanted a decrease in the crime against property. “We don’t have any other option except for denying or delaying registration of cases to show a low crime rate.”
HOLD-UPS: Hold-ups for snatching cash, gold and purses from women are on the rise.
Around 70 purse-snatching cases were reported in the last one year, mostly in the Sadar division.
Some 30 cases were lodged by women who had been deprived of gold ornaments at gunpoint.
Sources in the police department say that the reported cases do not reflect the exact crime situation. In most of the cases, they say, the police employ various tactics to discourage registration of complaints.
