GANGS of outlaws and kidnappers in the katcha areas of south Punjab are using cheap cars and honey traps to lure unsuspecting victims to the border areas of Punjab and Sindh to abduct them for ransom.

The gangs have changed their modus operandi after a sustained police operation and have started luring people to come to their area by offering them used vehicles at cheap rates and using women as honey traps, Dawn has learnt.

Arshad Mahmood, a taxi driver from Rawalpindi, was kidnapped from Uba­uro, Sindh, on June 26.

Mahmood came to the area to buy a cheap car after seeing an advertisement on Facebook. He shared his picture with his son on Whats­App after reaching Ubauro and texted him to let him know that he would reach home late at night.

But he lost contact with his family after reaching the area where these gangs hold sway. The kidnappers called his family and demanded Rs10m as ransom and directed them to come to Daharki town.

The victim’s brother reached Ubauro on June 27 and sought the assistance of the Sindh Police. He found them to be of no help, and eventually Mahmood’s body was found by the Machka police in the border area of Katcha Ronti, in district Rahim Yar Khan.

In another incident in Rajanpur, two Pak Arab Refinery Company employees were kidnapped on June 10 in the Rojhan Mazari police jurisdictions. The police have yet to recover them.

Honey traps

Instead of leaving their hideouts to head to cities and towns to find victims, the gangs have started using women as bait to lure men to come to their areas, where they would be easy prey. Once men reach a certain prearranged spot, the gangsters abduct them.

Earlier, the bandits were operating on the National Highway connecting Sindh and Punjab along the banks of the river Indus, looting passengers travelling on these routes on private cars and busses.

However, police set up check posts and incre­ased patrolling in and around the katcha area which reduced the number of robberies.

Sixteen-year-old Ghulam Arabi, a resident of Zahir Pir, a town in Khanpur tehsil, went to meet a girl in the katcha area across the Sindh border on April 10 after talking to her on video call for about a month. He was kidnapped there.

Zahir Pir police had registered a case on the complaint of Arabi’s brother who said his younger sibling had left home to attend a marriage in Kot Mithan town of district Rajanpur. Later, they received a call from gangsters who demanded ransom. The boy was recovered during a police operation.

“I knew that girls and women were trapping men for kidnapping, but I came to trust her after she made video calls,” Arabi said, while narrating his ordeal. He claimed he wanted to marry her.

Areas where gangs are active

The gangs whose members go around kidnapping people for ransom in the area include Lund, Imrani, Shar, Mazari, Balachani, Lathani, Taighyani, Sikhani, Kosh, Kokani, Machhi and Bannu.

At least 250 people hailing from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Punjab became victims of the kidnappers’ new tactics during the first half of 2023. Law enforcement agencies recovered them during operations.

According to police data, in the year 2021 and 2022, 57 people were killed and 27 were kidnapped while 50 robbery incidents reported in the katcha areas of Rajanpur and Rahim Yar Khan.

Narrating the history of katcha becoming a no-go area, locals say the gangs were established after tribal clashes when people took up arms against their tribal chiefs. With the passage of time, these clashes resulted in killing of people and giving further rise to weaponisation of people for their protection. This weaponisation and clashes resulted in creating no-go areas for rival tribes and members of these rival clans were not allowed to visit each other’s area. As there was no civil infrastructure available in the area of Rahim Yar Khan, Rajanpur, Sui, Dera Bugti, Ghotki, Kandhkot and Kashmor, the tribesmen did not find any livelihood other than joining the gangs.

Rise of the river

The caretaker Punjab cabinet approved the launch of operation in the katcha area on April 8 after giving a nod to release of funds for the purpose.

Since then, police claim to have killed 10 gangsters and injured eight others during the operation. Fifty-one robbers were arrested — including 23 in Rajanpur and 28 in Rahim Yar Khan. Twenty-six robbers courted arrest in these districts. A policeman was martyred and seven were injured during the operation.

The law enforcement agencies claim to have cleared 58,500 acres out of 69,500 acres of criminals.

Police have halted the ground operation in Rahim Yar Khan due to rise of water in katcha area.

A police officer, on condition of anonymity, says it has become impossible to carry out operation after rise in the water level in the mighty Indus. The mode of the operation changes from on ground to intelligence based with the rise of water when the katcha area becomes ungovernable. Police don’t have the means to patrol and establish the writ of the law in the area without developing civil infrastructure.

The officer says the katcha area has developed a robber’s economy from their activities and police, politicians, tribal chiefs and robbers were all getting benefits from this economy.

Policing issues

Besides, police have their own issues of capacity to eliminate the gangs once and for all. Questions have been asked about the efficacy of the operation and a long-term solution to the menace of gangsters.

Rahim Yar Khan DPO Rizwan Omar Gondal complains that police don’t have sufficient weapons to fight the gangs equipped with sophisticated weapons, including rocket launchers. He says police don’t have enough armoured personnel carriers (APCs) too to reach the islands in the Indus where the criminals build their bunkers.

“Training should be provided to district police personnel for patrolling the riverine area and having endurance to sustain there. They should also be armed with modern weapons, including APCs, drone surveillance and an armor boat.”

The DPO says the administration has submitted a proposal of Rs31bn for development of the katcha to address the issue once and for all; otherwise, the outlaws who have fled to Balochistan could return and restart their activities.

“Police stations should be constructed, police pickets should be fortified and elevated light watch towers should be set up alongside the Indus bank. The provincial government should devise a complete development package for uplifting and mainstreaming of the local population and the natives should also be given jobs,” Mr Gondal adds.

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2023