LAHORE, Feb 15: The city police have prepared a list of 679 criminals belonging to the NWFP, a province in turmoil, who are wanted by the Lahore law enforcers in a number of cases, Dawn learnt.

The list, having names of 213 proclaimed offenders, 96 court absconders and 370 target offenders, is expected to be dispatched to the NWFP government and the police concerned shortly, a source told this correspondent. He said the document would help both the Lahore and the NWFP police in tracing and arresting the criminals and bring them to the court of law.

The graph of crime against property in the provincial capital could be brought down if the joint effort proved successful, he said. According to him, it is not easy for the Lahore police to raid the suspected places in the NWFP and arrest the criminals on their own keeping in view “the ongoing war against terrorism in the province, crime pattern and strong connections of criminals”.

“Lists of criminals wanted by the Lahore police of all 107 districts in the country, twenty-two of which have been finalised, will be completed by the end of current month,” the source said.

The list, available with Dawn, mentions complete names and addresses of the wanted criminals, cases registered against them in Lahore and some parts of the NWFP, status of cases, mention of names in Register 4 of the police station, previous record and current status.

The Shahdara police tops the list with 19 wanted men, followed by the Civil Lines police which are in quest of 17 POs. Mozang, Naulakha and Mughalpura police want 10 men each, Qilla Gujjar Singh police (nine), Shafeeqabad and South Cantonment police (eight each), Gulshan-i-Iqbal and Kahna police (seven each), Badami Bagh, Liaquatabad, Batapur, Baghbanpura, Manawan, and Ghalib Market police (six each), Lytton Road, North Cantonment and Defence B police (five each), Gujjarpura, Shahdara Town, Faisal Town, Nishtar Colony and Shahdara police (four each), Sanda, Ravi Road, Sabzazar, Ghaziabad, Sarwar Road and Lower Mall police (three each).

Two each men are wanted by Akbari Gate, Old Anarkali, Ichhra and Muslim Town police, and one each by Green Town, Mochi Gate, Shadbagh, Gulshan-i-Ravi, Garhi Shahu and Shalimar police.

A majority of the proclaimed offenders was involved in murder, dacoity, robbery, theft and kidnap for ransom cases. A police official told Dawn that five ‘unorganised’ gangs of Pathans had been operating in the provincial capital. He said the police were unable to arrest all members of the gangs because of their escape to the NWFP. Karachi and Lahore have proved to be havens for criminals from the NWFP.

Crimes Investigation Agency SP Muhammad Virk, when contacted, said the CIA police had busted 14 gangs of Pathans, eight involved in dacoities and robberies and three in vehicle snatching/theft in 2008.He said they had smashed the latest Shahzeb gang and arrested its six members while as many members, all residents of different parts of the NWFP, are still at large. The gangsters would ransack copper factories and they plundered valuables from two main factories at Kot Lakhpat and Cantonment.

Mr Virk said most Pathan gangs had targeted factories and warehouses of medicine, carpets, electronics, metals and other goods. “Unfortunately, the criminals belonging to the NWFP manage to escape to their native province after committing crimes and return after some time for the same purpose,” the SP said, and added that joint effort was required by the police of both provinces to hunt down all those criminals.

He said the police had time and again conducted raids and arrested many Pathans on the information provided by those already in custody. “The police have prepared a master plan to launch a crack down in areas of Shafeeqabad, Bund Road, Naseerabad and Johar Town to track down the criminals and suspects,” he said.

Capital City Police Officer Muhammad Pervez Rathore confirmed that a booklet comprising names, addresses and criminal record of the NWFP criminals wanted by the Lahore police had been prepared. He said such books of criminals were being prepared with sincere efforts and would be dispatched to all districts to arrest and convict the wrongdoers.