City Police fail to establish writ.

LAHORE -- The Lahore police have so far failed to nail 19,581 proclaimed offenders wanted in different types of heinous crimes.

The latest data reveal most of the suspects declared as proclaimed offenders by locals courts were booked in cases of fraud, cheating, and bogus cheques. At least 372 proclaimed offenders are wanted in murder cases. City police also failed to arrest at least 12 POs involved in multiple murders.

With surging crime rate in Lahore the arrests of a large number of proclaimed offenders have become an uphill task for the city police. The total numbers of POs are piling up every day though police claimed to have launched various crackdown in months.

According to statistics, at least 143 proclaimed offenders are involved in robbery, 76 in dacoity, 33 in kidnapping for ransom, 21 in robbery with murder, and 8 in terrorism cases. The proclaimed offenders are divided into A and B-categories. The data shows that at least 660 proclaimed offenders of A-category and at least 18,921 POs of B-category are at large in Lahore.

When a suspect flees court proceedings he/she is declared as proclaimed offender. The court also directs the police to arrest the accused named in the FIR and produce him before the court. The name and other details of the PO are also published in media after a certain time period.

According to official sources, dozens of special police teams are taking part in the raids to arrest the proclaimed offenders. The police officers are also using digital technology to track down the POs.

A police officer told The Nation that the city police patrolling units including the Dolphins Squads are using android mobile phones to identity the proclaimed offenders during security searches.

'The data of all proclaimed offenders is available online for police. Our officers can verify the record of any person just by entering the national identity card number in their handsets. This technology is helping police in manifold,' the officer explained. He said the Lahore police arrested dozens of POs...