RAHIM YAR KHAN: Despite a ‘grand’ operation involving more than 1,200 policemen armed with latest weapons and armoured vehicles that continued for the last over 100 days against dacoit gangs, the law and order situation in Katcha area is still volatile.
On Tuesday night, four labourers from a mango orchard adjacent to Bhong police station were kidnapped by gangsters of Kacha area.
Reports said a number of labourers were asleep in the garden when more than 12 dacoits with latest arms arrived there, opened fire and allegedly kidnapped four of them, including two children, and escaped towards Katcha area, but police were unaware of the incident.
Worker Nazar Hussain of Sargodha and two child labourers Danish (14) and Ahsan (15), residents of Muzaffargarh, were in the the New Farm mango orchard with an unidentified labourer when they were kidnapped. Other labourers in the garden told journalists that the criminals were equipped with latest heavy weapons.
Police had claimed after an elaborate operation that continued for more than three months that a vast area had been cleared of criminals after killing or arresting main dacoit gangs. But during the last few days the increasing incidents of kidnapping and attacks on policemen in Katcha area had raised the questions on the police operation and all their claims.
Two officials of a company from Rojhan and a doctor from Kashmore were also kidnapped during the last three days. Three policemen near Bhong while as many police employees, including a station house officer, were also injured by dacoit gangs in Kandhkot during the last two days.
On Wednesday, police mounted an intelligence-based operation, led by ASP Bhong circle, in the volatile area. Meanwhile two notorious gangster groups in Katcha area of Punjab-Sindh border, Umar Shar gang of Katcha Rounti near Machka and Rana Shar gang of Bakshapur, released their fresh videos on Tuesday through Janu Indhar gang on social media. In these videos, the dacoits threatened the government that if a woman (Seema) who recently married an Indian man, was not returned, they would target the Hindu temples in major areas of Sindh and Rahim Yar Khan.
In the videos, the outlaws were seen displaying their hand grenades, G-3 rifles, heavy machine guns and rocket launchers.
The dacoits have set a 48-hour deadline for return of the woman as they claim that she belongs to their tribe Jhakrani Baloch and the Balochs don’t compromise on the honour of their women.
