Members of the Attaullah Pat gang attacked a police check post in the Kacha area of Rojhan, Rajanpur on Sunday and kidnapped seven elite force personnel.
The gangsters attacked the check post and a gun battle ensued between the police and the attackers.
The attackers were able to take away seven policemen with them.
The cops have been identified as elite force’s Luqman, Zeeshan, Shakir, Sabir, Jamshed, Safdar and ASI Muzammil.
Following the abduction, heavy contingents of the elite force personnel reached the scene and an operation against the gang is under way to rescue the kidnapped policemen. The entry and exit points of the Kacha area have been sealed and the gangsters surrounded.
Giving a different account of the abduction, DPO Atiq Taabir said the policemen were travelling unarmed on a boat in Moro, when they were ambushed. He added that they were taken away along with the boat.
Last year, an operation was launched by the Pakistan Army against the notorious Chottu gang in Rajanpur. The gang lay down their arms but some of its members have returned to the area and started operating there again.
Kacha Jamaal in Rajanpur district had served as a hideout of the Chottu gang for years and was even named Chottu Island by the locals. The island is about 11km in length and 6km in width.
For the past three decades, the Rojhan sub-district has been the battleground among Mazaris, Gorchanis and Bugtis. All tribes have supported gangsters to create a defensive shield against each other.
On April 7, 2016, On April 7, after elapsing nine days of the start of the operation, Punjab Inspector General of Police Mushtaq Ahmad Sukhera appointed a nine-member committee to supervise, monitor and implement operation in Rajanpur’s reverine area.
This joint operational committee comprised officers from police, Elite Force, Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), Intelligence Bureaue (IB), Special Branch and Rangers.
According to the notification, RPO DG Khan was appointed commander of the operation in Rajanpur, while the other eight members were, RPOBahwalpur Ihsan Sadiq, DPO Rajanpur Ghulam Mubashir, DPO Rahim Yar Khan Zeeshan Asghar, Additional Director CTD Col Arshad, Commandant Elite Police Training School Col Saad and an officer each from IB, Special Branch and Rangers.
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