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The Sindh Apex Committee, under the chair of Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, on Monday decided to undertake stringent actions to counter street crimes and abductions for ransom of citizens by katcha (riverine area) dacoits.
According to a statement issued by the C.M. House, authorities decided to adopt special measures to monitor the sale of stolen mobile phones and vehicles, both as spare parts or in their entirety, in the markets of Karachi. In this regard, the chief minister directed the police department to reactivate the Shaheen Force and revamp Madadgar-15. It was also decided to establish police pickets to strengthen the left bank of the River Indus and contain the dacoits within the katcha area.
“The recovery of ransom from the families of the kidnapped individuals will be considered terror financing and the people involved in facilitating the collection of the ransom amount would be identified through intelligence work to crush them, “ vowed Shah.
Briefing the meeting, Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar and Inspector General Police (IGP) Ghulam Nabi Memon said street crimes were declining due to improved policing, but noted cases of vehicle theft had slightly increased. They said the first four months of 2024 had seen the theft of 15,345 motorcycles, 953 less than the 16,298 incidents reported in the same time last year. Similarly, the theft of cars decreased by 145, with 520 stolen in 2024 compared to 665 in 2023.
For phones, the officials said 6,813 cases of theft were reported in 2024 compared to 8,688 in 2023.
Overall, per the officials, 2023 saw 27,680 registered cases of street crime, compared to 26,067 in 2024. The meeting was also told police conducted 467 encounters in 2024, killing 67 criminals, injuring 489 and arresting 1,766. They said one SMG, 2,111 pistols, 30 rifles, seven shotguns and 18 grenades were recovered during these operations.
The chief minister instructed the police chief to initiate e-tagging of repeat offenders, directing for the launch of a pilot project with 4,000 devices. The IGP confirmed the drafting of rules for this purpose, adding standard operating procedures (SOPs) are being formulated for the e-tagging process. Shah also directed the IGP to upgrade the command and control center at the Central Police Office (CPO).
The home minister briefed the meeting that he had visited all the districts of Sukkur and Larkana with reported presence of dacoits. He said that since July 2022, the government constructed 107 police pickets manned with 759 police personnel along the left bank of the River Indus. He said 567 people were saved from kidnappings through honey traps.
According to the statement, the chief minister said that with the securing of the left bank of the Indus, it was time to shift focus to the right bank to secure the Shikarpur and Kashmore districts.
The meeting was also told 118 people were kidnapped from January to April 19, 2024, with 96 recovered, and 22 still missing. The minister said he was working to ensure the safe recovery of the 22 abducted people, adding the total count of dacoits was roughly 90, while the rest were tribesmen. He said 1,000 policemen each were deployed in Ghotki, Kashmore, and Shikarpur.
The chief minister, meanwhile, directed the chief secretary to expedite construction on the Ghotki-Kandhkot bridge, with the Sindh Rangers director-general saying the paramilitary force had been deployed to ensure the security of workers engaged in the construction work.
The meeting was also briefed on anti-smuggling measures, with the Chief Collector Customs (South) saying 642 seizures of smuggled goods worth Rs. 5,184 million were made between January and April. Of these, he said, Rangers spearheaded 250 cases valued at Rs. 411 million; police 26 valued at Rs. 251 million; Customs 190 valued at Rs. 3,303 billion. The chief minister appreciated the coordination between different law enforcement agencies.
Narcotics minister Sharjeel Memon said his department had initiated a drug awareness campaign in various colleges/universities. He said authorities had registered 164 cases of narcotics in the past four months, arresting 166 people, seizing 27 cars and 22 motorcycles.