SUKKUR: Several gangs of heavily armed dacoits went on a looting spree at three different spots along the Thull-Kandhkot road on Saturday and deprived a number of commuters of their money and valuable belongings.

As police failed to rush any of the spots, affected people actively supported by many local social activists coming from the nearby Tangwani town held a noisy protest and blocked the road with burning tyres, junk and other objects suspending vehicular traffic.

Speaking to the media, the protesters said that the gangs fired shots on passing vehicles to stop them and kept looting the occupants at the Sui and Sokar bus stop and Shahbaig Larro (turning) along the road, falling within the limits of the Tangwani police station, for a couple of hours.

The activists, Fida Hussain Malik, Rahmatullah, Mohammad Ali and others, who joined the protest, pointed out that dacoit gangs terrifying commuters with gunrunning and looting them in this area had become a daily routine while kidnapping for ransom had also been the order of the day in the Kandhkot-Kashmore district. They deplored that the district police had utterly failed to check dacoits’ criminal activities.

Victims, activists block road with bonfire as police fail to rescue commuters

The protesters included some affluent businessmen like Niaz Malik, Liaquat Mirani and Hashim Nandwani who were also robbed of their money and valuables.

They said the gangs fled the area without any check by the area police.

The activists remarked that gangs were practically ruling over the entire area as no day passed without a looting or kidnapping incident.

The protesters demanded immediate and effective action against outlaws and restoration of looted money and belongings to the victims.

Kidnapping foiled

The Kandhkot police said on Saturday that they saved a Karachi resident, Naseer Imran Gul, from being kidnapped by a gang after he had fallen into a honey-trap.

They said the men had travelled to Kandhkot to meet a woman, who had invited him for a date and finalising formalities of their marriage.

The police said they had traced the telephonic calls between them and realised that Gul had been trapped. As soon as he headed for the place of meeting, a police team stopped him at Jhulay Lal petrol pump and warned him that the caller was not a woman but a male member of a dacoit gang who kept speaking to him in woman’s voice for the last several days.

Mr Gul told the local personnel that he had been lured into a love affair by the caller, who had remained in contact with him for the last 10 days.

Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2024