A police mobile van patrols on a road in Karachi on February 18, 2023. —AFP/File

• Scrap dealers’ association president led attack, say police.
• Police earlier arrested 3 suspects for selling stolen goods.
  
• Police launch baton charge to disperse assailants.
  

KARACHI: Police on Friday arrested six suspects after two of its personnel were wounded in an attack by “80 scrap dealers” at the Gulistan-e-Johar police station.

Police told Geo News that the attack was carried out by 80 people involved in the scrap business. As a result of stone-pelting and torture, a police constable and an assistant sub-inspector got injured, they maintained.

The scrap dealers attacked police officials after three suspects were arrested for selling stolen goods, they said.

“The attack was spearheaded by the president of scrap dealers’ association, Iqbal Rind, to get the suspects freed from police station,” they said adding that six of the assailants had been arrested, while rest of them fled. Police also launched a baton charge to disperse the assailants.

According to the police, two FIRs had been lodged at the said police station on behalf of the state — one under the charges of terrorism, anarchy, police encounter and damaging public property against the attackers, while the other under the charges of larceny.

It added that 80 suspects including the nine arrested were nominated in the case, while Rind was nominated as the key suspect for attacking the police station.

Last week, Sindh police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon said street crime and the sale and purchase of stolen goods were interconnected.

Addressing a meeting on law and order situation, with a particular focus on street crime, Sindh police top cop reviewed police actions against scrap dealers and those involved in buying and selling stolen goods, providing further instructions as needed.

The SSP of the Anti-Vehicles Lifting Cell had reported that 352 scrap dealers were checked, resulting in 79 arrests under 55 FIRs.

Investigations had revealed that drug addicts often exchanged stolen goods for money or drugs, or handed them over to drug mafias.

A systematic crackdown on scrap dealers had led to the recovery of significant amounts of stolen goods from warehouses. The meeting disclosed that much of the stolen iron ore from major government projects ended up with scrap dealers.

Source link: https://www.geo.tv/latest/545642-two-cops-wounded-after-80-scrap-dealers-attack-karachi-police-station