Media urged not to ‘glorify’ dacoits’ defiance
HYDERABAD: The Sindh Inspector General of Police Ghulam Nabi Memon on Monday acknowledged that dacoits involved in the kidnappings for ransom are hiding in the riverine forests in Kashmore-Kandhkot, Shikarpur, Ghotki and Sukkur.
“However, police are pursuing criminals through a strategy which has resulted in a significant drop in the abductions,” he claimed at a press conference after chairing a meeting of the police officers in Larkana district on Monday. Sharing the statistics, he told the media persons that 30 dacoits have been killed and 45 arrested in injured condition in the police raids and encounters from January 1 to April 30. He added that the police also apprehended 231 hardened criminals during the same time. “The police on its end are performing remarkably.”
Tacitly criticising the media’s coverage of the criminal activities of the dacoits and the police response, the IGP said the outlaws wanted to glorify their deeds in order to demoralise the police. Memon also took exception to the media’s depiction of the situation as a fight between cops and robbers. “It’s wrong to describe it in this way. This is indeed a combat between the society and the criminal elements. If the society doesn’t take it that way, naturally the police will feel isolated, and without the public support victory will become difficult.” He urged the local media to take cue from the Western media to learn how to cover such situations and crimes.
The IGP said the police are being trained and sensitised to adopt the standard operating procedures laid down for the operations and raids against the dacoits. The aim is to try not to suffer the casualties of the policemen and to inflict maximum loss on the criminals, he added.
Memon claimed that in the recent past the people from other provinces were kidnapped and brought to the forests in Sindh where they were kept hostage for ransom. However, he credited the police for implementing some successful strategies which prevented 165 abductions this year and 472 in 2022.
He disclosed that the Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan police are together trying to come up with an action plan to curb the activities of the criminal gangs and dacoits along the provinces’ borders. He said their strategy will also help the smuggling of weapons to the outlaws.
Source: The Express Tribune
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