SUKKUR: A gang of armed men went on a looting spree within the jurisdiction of Tangwani police station of Kandhkot-Kashmore district on Friday targeting the area’s PPHI centre employees, a mill owner and his workers and a teashop operator.

Mohammad Khan Khoso, owner of the rice mill, told local reporters that 11 armed men held the watchman at gunpoint to barge into his mill and then went to an accountant and held him at gunpoint as well. They then started beating up them and other employees, he said. During the process, they snatched mobile phone of the accountant and finally dropped a message for him [Mr Khoso] to keep Rs5 million protection money ready as they would visit the mills again vary soon to collect it.

The gang then left the mill and struck the area’s PPHI centre, where they held the paramedics present inside at gunpoint. Some of the paramedics, Karam Sundrani, Imam Bakhsh Khoso, and Ms Marvi said that while harassing them, the intruders also subjected them to manhandling.

They said the gang left the centre only after looting cash, mobile phones and other belongings from them. “They asked us for protection money to be paid to them regularly,” the victims said, adding: “They threatened us with dire consequences if the money was not paid to them”.

The next target of the gang was a nearby teashop, where it deprived owner of the shop of his mobile phone and looted the money he possessed. The gang told him that it would visit the shop regularly to collect protection money.

Mill-owner Mr Khoso, speaking to the media, wondered that the gang continued with its looting spree for considerably long time but police were found nowhere. He deplored that those whose duty was to ensure safety and security of citizens had left people at the mercy of criminals.

He said police must look into the broad daylight activities of the criminals who had been at work without any fear to collect the so called protection money, or Bhatta, on a regular basis.

“If outlaws are more powerful than police, then the latter should keep a list of criminals with them and ask people to pay Bhatta to these registered gangsters in order to stay safe,” he sarcastically said.

He appealed to the higher authority to take notice of the increasing criminal activities of gangs in the district and save citizens from fear and losses.

Kandhkot-Kashmore is a district worst-hit by criminal activities of a host of heavily armed gangs. The ongoing ‘grand operation’ against the gangs has so far achieved little success.

Published in Dawn, September 7th, 2024