Petty theft cases, besides
heinous crimes such as armed robbery, drug-dealing, carjacking and gambling, is
on the rise in Rawalpindi and its suburbs.
The most sought after items for petty thieves are mobile phones, purses and
handbags in main business centres. Police do not take these thefts seriously.
Many people, both men and women, have reported to police snatching of their cell
phones, purses, handbags and wallets as they walk in the street or in the
market.
Five cases of mobile and cash snatching at gunpoint were reported in different
localities of the city and its suburbs.
In Mandra, muggers snatched a mobile phone and Rs5,300 cash from Israr.
Three bike-riders held Mohammad Alam at gunpoint in New Town Police Station
area, beat him up and snatched away a mobile phone and Rs13,000.
At Chakra Road, falling in the jurisdiction of Westridge Police Station, three
bike-riding muggers snatched two mobile phones and Rs10,000 from Mushtaq.
At Asghar Mall Scheme, Usman, a resident of Pindora, was deprived of two mobile
phones and Rs12,000 cash.
Awais was intercepted by two bike-riding gunmen when he was heading towards
Saddar from Mareer Hassan and snatched his mobile phone and Rs10,000 after
holding him at gunpoint. The victim overpowered one of them and handed him over
to the Cantonment Police. The nabbed bandit was identified as Jahanzeb who told
police that his accomplice was Bilal who managed to escape from the scene.
It is worth mentioning here that 326 mobile phones were snatched during the last
ten weeks.
A female victim said: “Women are often robbed by someone behind them. In some
cases, the thief jumps in front of the woman and before she can react he runs
off with her purse or handbag.”
On the other hand, traders, especially jewelers, are scared of being hit by
criminals anytime.
The police station officials avoid registering reports of even heinous crimes on
the ‘clear directions’ of the bosses to ‘control the crime’ on paper.
The law enforcement agencies have not yet made any effective strategy at any
level to counter the crime of mobile phone and purse snatching.
There is fear among people due to the increasing ratio of street crime. People
are scared of being hit by criminals while walking on roads, Malik Ehtasham, a
lawyer, said.
“I am dealing with many such complaints from victims facing humiliating attitude
from police when they go to police stations for lodging FIRs,” the lawyer said.
This correspondent met a government employee, Ejaz, living in Usmanpura,
complaining against police. He said that he was a victim of mobile phone
snatching case. “When the theft occurred, I was using the mobile phone. As I
stood in the street, two boys in a car stopped besides me, snatched the mobile
phone and sped away”.
The apathy of police has led to social problems causing a sense of insecurity
among people, said Shabbir Minhas, a resident of F-Block, Satellite Town, who
was robbed recently and visiting the New Town Police Station regularly for
lodging an FIR but declined by police.
Another victim, Shahab Jilani, said: “I was talking to my wife as I walked in
the street when suddenly someone appeared, snatched my phone and ran away.”
Another victim stopped his car for a short time at RGH and went to collect his
medical report. As he got out of the car, muggers snatched his mobile phone
after holding him at gunpoint. “People are now aware of this danger and many of
them will not answer their phones in public even if they ring and ring,” he
added.