Bandits’ Paradise

A deadly attack on police in Ghotki demonstrates how powerful the heavily armed bandits have become

SUKKUR: Gangs of bandits once again attacked a police team in District Ghotki’s Katcha area, martyring the SHOs of two police stations and two policemen, including one DSP. During the attack, the policemen’s bodies were desecrated, and the armoured police vehicles were also significantly damaged.

The architect of this bandit raid was the notorious bandit Rahab Shar, who attacked the police squad with automatic weapons and rocket launchers, together with over a hundred other gunmen.

The incident was part of Rahab Shar’s revenge after the death of another notorious bandit and his cousin, Sultan alias Sultoo Shar, in an encounter with Ghotki police. Following Sultan’s killing, Rahab Shar declared his intention to exact his vengeance on the police and abducted a large number of individuals from the Sindh-Punjab border.

Rahab also vowed to kill the kidnapped people on social media and challenged SSP Ghotki Tanveer Tunio. Shortly thereafter, the police began efforts to free the hostages from the grasp of the kidnappers.

In this regard, a police team led by DSP Ubauro Abdul Malik Bhutto approached Rahab Shar’s home in the Rounti Katcha area. However, the assailants sent a message to the party stating that the police had murdered their gang leader, Sultoo Shar, and that there would be no further talks with them or release of the hostages. The bandits warned the police to leave the Katcha area immediately, but they did not return; instead, the police team attempted to free the hostages.

According to the reports received by Bol News, when the police team did not leave the Katcha area after three to four hours, Rahab Shar contacted Janu Indhar, the head of the Indhar Gang of South Punjab, and Dacoit Mehrab Shar. Other gangs, including the Rano and Somar Shar gangs, gathered in Katcha as well, and around a hundred bandits armed with rocket launchers and modern automatic weapons attacked the police party sent to free the hostages.

As a result of the indiscriminately fired shells from the launchers, DSP Ubauro Abdul Malik Bhutto, SHO Police Station Mir Pur Mathilo Abdul Malik Kamangar, SHO Police Station Khenjo Din Muhammad Leghari, Police Constable Salim Chachar, and Jatoi Patafi died on the spot.

Many police officers were injured in the bandits’ attack, and the bandits held the injured police officers hostage for several hours. The bandits’ bold action destroyed law and order in various districts of Sindh, namely Ghotki, Kashmore, Shikarpur, Jacobabad, Sukkur, and Khairpur. Several concerns have also been raised about the establishment.

Bol News has been highlighting the fact that the katcha, or riverine areas, in some districts of upper Sindh have become havens for such gangs of dacoits. At that time, the gangs of Morin Misrani and Belo Tighani were in Shikarpur’s katcha areas.

Similarly, robber gangs such as Sabzoi, Bhangwar, Jagirani, and others are active in Kashmore; Kashmir Jatoi and Wazir Jatoi are active in Sukkur’s Bagarji area; and bandits such as Rahab Shar, Rano Shar, and Somar Shar are active in Ghotki district. The robbers have taken over 50 hostages from various areas of Sindh and Punjab and have demanded tens of millions of rupees in exchange for their release. They have also made public videos of hostages being tortured.

The recent bandit attack shook both the Sindh government and the Sindh police, revealing how the criminal enterprise has established itself in several districts of Sindh.

These gangs possess anti-aircraft guns, rocket launchers, machine guns, Klashnikovs, G3 rifles, and other automatic weapons, which they openly display, and they have also posted several tiktoks on social media. The Sindh government has set a reward of Rs 10 million for the capture of the robbers who attacked the police party in Rounti Katcha, including Rahab Shar, Rano Shar, Somar Shar, and Janu Indhar.

The Sindh Police, on the other hand, does not have the same weapons as the bandits; in the past, bandits attacked police parties and shot police officers inside armoured vehicles in Shikarpur and Kashmore districts. It has been established that the Sindh police do not have modern automatic weapons or armoured vehicles to protect their lives.

Even before the attack, police officers and personnel were martyred, and now that it has been revealed that the robbers have destroyed many houses, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has reassured the people of the province that strong action will be taken against the assailants soon. When the CM met with Inspector General (IG) Sindh Police Ghulam Nabi Memon after this incident, he adopted the same traditional approach.

The chief minister stated that the law-and-order situation in Sindh is improving overall, but it is particularly bad in these three or four districts, adding, “We are investigating where these robbers obtained such advanced weapons.”

He added that in order to effectively combat dacoit gangs, the number of police personnel in these areas of Katcha will be increased, new police stations will be built, and as many modern and automatic weapons as the police require will be provided in this matter.

“The Sindh government has allocated three and a half billion rupees to provide the police department with modern automatic weapons, modern surveillance systems, and strong, better, faster vehicles to deal with a variety of situations,” he said.

“The robbers’ actions have not damaged the police force’s morale. The police officers will not let their comrades’ blood be wasted. Inshallah, all possible measures will be taken to prosecute these criminals,” he maintained.

Denying that political figures support robbers or bandits, CM Murad stated that if any political figure supports any criminal, action should be taken against them in accordance with the law. The provincial chief minister and IG Sindh also expressed their condolences to the families of the fallen police officers.

Robbers not only move easily from one district to another in Kashmore, Ghotki, Sukkur, and Shikarpur, but they also hide after committing major crimes. Because the bandit Janu Indhar gang only commits crimes in the border areas of Sindh and Punjab, including Rahim Yar Khan District, it provides shelter to a group of bandits from Sindh, including Rahab Shar, Rano Shar, Somar Shar, and Mehrab. Following the attack on the police team in Ghotki, the group crossed the border into Punjab and took refuge somewhere in the Sadiq Abad area.

As the border areas of Sindh and Punjab have become unsafe for the general public and kidnapping for ransom has become commonplace, several questions have arisen. How will the Sindh police handle this surge in crime? When will the Sindh police get their hands on modern, automatic weapons? Whether and when the people of Sindh will be able to rid themselves of these bandits are all questions to which no one has an answer.

Bol News spoke with former Additional IG Sindh Ghulam Shabbir Sheikh, who served in Sindh and Balochistan and during whose tenure, around 300 robbers were killed in police encounters.

Sheikh emphasised the importance of forming a separate riverine police force in Sindh for effective action against dacoits, with each officer receiving commando training, adding that they should be posted only in katcha areas; they should be posted at police stations in urban areas; and transfers should be completely barred. “This force’s uniforms should be changed, and they should have modern communication systems, automatic and modern weapons, high-speed vehicles for traversing rough terrain, and commandos stationed at every picket should have bulletproof jackets and helmets,” he added.

He also remarked that the information system should be strengthened to allow for coordinated action against thieves and that the police should be provided with funds to collect information.

Sheikh further maintained, “I personally led all operations against the armed men and was always successful. It is unseemly for the SSP to sit in the air-conditioned office while other police officers conduct operations against the criminals.” He stated that in the districts of Kashmore, Sukkur, Ghotki, Shikarpur, Jacobabad, and Khairpur, the district SSP should lead the operation against the dacoits himself; this boosts police morale and encourages them to fight on.

“Therefore, a separate Katcha force should be formed, paved roads should be built to the end of these areas, access to the communication system should be granted, and youth should be recruited. The officers of the Katcha police force should be separated from the rest of the force, and the officers posted there should be given extra allowance,” the former additional IG said, adding, “It may take some time to build the new police force and infrastructure, but the bandit problem will be solved forever.”