The crime rate is increasing day by day as the number of Proclaimed Offenders (POs) and Court Absconders (CAs) has increased by 45 percent from January to August, this year, as compared to corresponding period of the last year across the Punjab province, police sources and some official documents revealed on Friday.
According to the sources most of the POs and CAs belong to the few districts of Punjab including Sheikhupura, Lahore, Vehari, Lodhran, Bahalwalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Sadiqabad, Sahiwal and Faisalabad. Police sources maintained that as many as 64,534 POs had emerged this year so far. They are involved in heinous acts of crime committed in different districts of the Punjab.
A top police officer said that dozens of POs were involved in triple murder cases, encounters with policemen, illegal land grabbing and other acts of crime adding that they had spoiled the lives of many innocent women by victimising them of gang rape. They must be eliminated, he further said.
As per official document, almost 57,786 POs were reported from January to August last year. Punjab police, however, had claimed to arrest 42,702 POs last year in the said period but interestingly the ratio of POs shot up in 2010 by 12 percent. The document said that as many as 33,292 CAs were reported roaming across the Punjab from January to August this year.
Police also have claimed to apprehend 31,292 CAs so far. Not less than 25,033 CAs were reported during the first eight months of the last year while according to the police 24,457 were arrested but the ratio shot up by 33 percent during the first eight months this year, the document further stated.
"The situation is changing day by day regarding the crimes of every nature. The crimes including murder, kidnapping for ransom, dacoity-cum-murder, robbery, car and bike snatching, theft and other street crimes are on the rise," a senior police officer told on condition of anonymity.
He further said that CAs were established criminal but policemen were reluctant to arrest them owing to many reasons including threat to their families. Meanwhile, Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Punjab Highway Patrol Sohail Khan has claimed that PHP has cut the 80 percent crime on roads.