A FEW days ago, a thief barged into my house in Lahore’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA) area, and fled with my mobile phone, wallet, its contents and cash. My security cameras recorded all his movements, and the video was handed over to the DHA security staff who rather miraculously produced the culprit in less than 24 hours.

Since the DHA has no jurisdiction over criminals, I reported the matter to police which promptly came and arrested the man. The criminal confessed to the entire crime and even gave the location of the person to whom he had sold my mobile phone.

Following his confession, I went to the police station to file a formal FIR, and was assured by the police that they would recover the stolen contents and bring them to my house. I was impressed.

I went to the police station again the next day, and the relevant official, an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) asked me not to worry at all, and, in fact, advised me to ‘take some rest’. I was even more impressed.

However, a couple of days later, I came across the culprit who I saw walking close to where I was on a city street. When I confronted him, he had the audacity to mock me, saying the current FIR was his ninth. “You cannot do anything to me, sahib jee,” he taunted me before walking away, leaving me awestruck.

To my utter surprise, even with undeniable proof along with the culprit’s confession, the police somehow released him without taking any further action? I really fail to understand. Can anyone advise me who should I approach next?

Wg-Cdr (retd) Shahid Hyder
Lahore

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2024