GUJRANWALA, Sept 16: The law and order situation is not alarming in the district while an important change is being brought about on the directive of Punjab chief minister to give proper respect to people at police stations.

This was claimed by DIG Altaf Qamer while speaking at the local chamber of commerce and industry here on Wednesday. He said about 33,166 criminal cases had been registered throughout the region during first eight months of the current year, including 7,870 of illegal arms and 4,055 of narcotics.

Mr Qamer claimed that the Gujranwala rang police stood first throughout the Punjab by arresting around 10,000 proclaimed offenders. He said the police nabbed 578 members of 146 gangs of dacoits during the last one and a half months and recovered looted goods worth millions of rupees. The DIG appreciated the industrialists and citizens for extending their co-operation to the police in curbing crime.

SUMMONED: As many as 11 SHOs were summoned by the DIG here on Thursday on receiving public complaints against them. The officials were ordered to appear before him on Saturday (tomorrow).

Reports said the SHOs had refused to register cases and misbehaved with the complainants while some of them were involved in abuse of powers. The SHOs had been posted in Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot, Narowal, Hafizabad and Mandi Bahauddin a few months ago.