PESHAWAR: Apart from an unprecedented increase in the use and recovery of ice (methamphetamine), the capital city has witnessed a surge in incidents of robberies, abduction, elopement, rape incidents over the last few years.
A study of the incidents registered with the police in the last 10 years revealed the cases of car and bike lifting and snatching, dacoity, attack on police, kidnapping for ransom and some other crimes have dropped if compared with the past years.
The figures only include the incidents in which the police lodged the first information report. There were frequent complaints for the last several years that most of the cases in kidnapping, robberies, theft, car and bike snatching and lifting and other crimes were not being registered to present a rosy picture of the situation.
"The recovery of ice in Peshawar during the last year was over 500 kilograms," a report compiled by the Peshawar Police revealed. No one knew about ice in Peshawar till 2016. Hardly a KG or two were recovered in 2017 which increased to a few KGs in 2018.
"The recovery of the drug was below 80 KG till 2020 but it suddenly shot up to over 500 the next year after launching the Narcotics Eradication Teams," a source said.
The huge recovery of the drug speaks of the alarming increase in its use, sale and production of ice in the capital city and other parts of the province as well as in the country. According to the data, the number of registered cases of robberies was around 20 in 2013 which reached its top in 2019 and 2021.
The number of registered cases in 2021 was around 160, higher than in 2020. The KP and Peshawar Police's bosses had to take emergency measures to improve the situation after an alarming increase in robberies, snatching and other street crimes last year.
A special Ababeel Squad was launched and a 15-point strategy was evolved, which topped ensuring registration of cases so these are worked out and gangs are busted. Hardly a few officers and cops, however, could be punished for not registering cases to convey a message to the rest.
The study of crime in the last decade showed around 11 cases of rape and sodomy were reported in Peshawar in 2011 which increased to over 70 last year. The highest number of such crimes was reported in 2019. Cases of abduction and elopement increased from 53 in 2011 to 81 last year.
On the other hand, there were 160 reported cases of kidnapping, including for ransom, in 2014 which dropped to around 36 last year, the lowest number in the last decade. The car lifting and snatching incidents were around 240 in Peshawar in 2014 but the crime dropped in the last few years, recording the lowest registered cases in 2018.
The car lifting recorded an increase in 2019, 2020 and 2021 as compared to 2018. The motorbike lifting and snatching also recorded an increase in the last three years compared to 2018. As per the official data, the number of murders in the capital city in 2014 were around 700 which has dropped to around 450 in 2021.
The number of attacks on police, terrorist incidents as well as robberies also dropped over the last few years if compared with the recent past. There were 85 incidents of attack on police in Peshawar in 2014 which dropped to less than 30 last year. Besides, the reported cases of robbery in 2021 were eight against 14 in 2011.
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