Crackdown underway to catch Lahore's top-20 Badmash.

Byline: Ashraf Javed

LAHORE -- Police have launched a rare crackdown in the provincial capital to arrest Top-20 'Badmash' nominated in several cases of murder, land grabbing, gambling and extortion.

The police's operation to hunt down these hardened criminals comes a few weeks after Prime Minister Imran Khan had strictly ordered the law enforcement agency (LEA) to bring them to justice. According to a police document available with The Nation, a list bearing the names of at least 20 goons of the city has been sent to field officers most recently.

The particulars of some of the gang leaders of the city's underworld, including Gogi Butt, Tajja Gujjar, Ameer Balaj, and Mansha Bomb are also given in the updated lists.

Police record reveals these 'Badmash' have remained involved in multiple cases of heinous crimes. They have been running underground networks for the last several years.

A police official told The Nation that special teams were conducting raids to arrest the goons who had become a symbol of terror in the provincial metropolis. 'The police are hunting for all the 20 goons. All of them will be arrested very soon,' the official said on the condition of anonymity.

Butt, Gujjar, Balaj, Bomb among the updated lists

On the other hand, a police spokesman on Saturday said that three notorious criminals, namely Muhammad Ilyas alias Ilyas Gujjar, Feroz Khan alias Paindo, and Muhammad Javed alias Bodi were arrested by police during a crackdown.

The spokesman said the police were tightening the screws on gangsters on the orders of DIG (Operations) Rai Babar Saeed and the operation would continue.

'All the three arrested criminals have been sent to jail,' the spokesman said. He said the police had also recovered automatic guns and bullets from them.

Sources revealed that a police team stormed the residence of Muhammad Imtiaz alias Tajja Gujjar somewhere in the city, but he fled shortly before the raid.

However, the police seized a pistol and an automatic gun during the raid.

According to the police record, these 20 criminals were involved in several incidents of murder, attempted murder...