After three weeks Ghulam Rasool, also known as Chotu, and his gang members (believed to be in excess of 170) surrendered to the Armed Forces in the riverine area of Rajanpur district in South Punjab on April 20. The 24 policemen that had been taken hostage by the Chotu gang earlier this month were released as well.
According to a security official who has been a part of the Operation Zarb-e-Ahan, launched following the Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town blast in Lahore on Easter Sunday, security forces had sealed all entry and exit paths to the river island where the Chotu gang had camped.
“The criminals intermittently dispersed during the 21-day long operation,” the official says. “Some abandoned their posts and ran into the jungle after gunship helicopters shelled their hideouts.”
According to reports Chotu had earlier asked for a safe passage for himself, his family and close accomplices. He wanted to leave for Dubai in exchange for the police hostages.
Another official confirmed that Chotu Gang eventually surrendered after being surrounded in the Kacha Jamal area, believed to be its hub. Local tribal leaders, especially those belonging to the Mazari tribe in the Rojhan tehsil, helped facilitate the surrender.
Earlier, on April 18, Army helicopters had dropped pamphlets on the gang, issuing warnings of a sweeping assault if they continued to resist. The pamphlets followed the Punjab government’s formal warning to the gang leader a day earlier, giving him 48 hours to surrender.
Hours before the final surrender, nearby villages were evacuated as the security forces prepared themselves for the decisive offensive.
Rajanpur district coordination officer said curfew had been imposed in the entire Kacha area, which includes Soon Miyani, Kacha Jamal and Katcha Shah Wali. Gunshots and blasts rocked the area amidst curfew in the region.
Emergency was declared in Rahim Yar Khan’s Sheikh Zayed Hospital and the Tehsil Headquarter Hospital in Sadiqabad. According to reports, two wards had been evacuated, with doctors recalled from their leaves.
The 50 square kilometre river island is located in Rojhan, which borders both Balochistan and Sindh. The topography of the island makes it difficult for anyone unfamiliar with the region to penetrate the area.
“The island has elephant grass, which is nearly 15 feet high. The bushes are incredibly dense,” says a Rajanpur-based police official. “Furthermore, all gangs that operate in the tri-border riverine area work in tandem. This means that there is osmosis of gang-members in the region, with all the gangs bailing each other out whenever one of them is in trouble.”
The police official says the fact that multiple operations against Chotu Gang had failed in the past, and army had to be summoned for this operation, shows how difficult it is to catch these gangsters in this area. “They know their way around the area, and can hence escape easily. But more crucially, they have the support of the locals who help their fellow tribesmen escape,” the official says.
Gangs that have joined and overlapped with the Chotu gang include Sindhi group, Bosans, Bilali Jaakha, Gumani Gopang, Baba Long, Khalid Kajlani and others.
“Chotu has never targeted any locals. He, in fact, helps the local villagers whenever he can and this adds to the already strong sense of loyalty among the tribespeople,” the police official says. “He’s treated like Robin Hood by the locals. No wonder security officials have found it virtually impossible to extract any information from the locals.”
After 15 unsuccessful days, which saw six policemen killed and multiple injured, in addition to the ones that were taken hostage, the army was summoned.
On April 15, 40 criminals surrendered as army took charge. Over 1,500 military personnel and 900 paramilitary troops were deployed in the region. Gunships were used in the offensive, with the Chotu gang being equipped with anti-aircraft guns. Twenty police checkpoints had been established from Rajanpur to Guddu Barrage.
Chotu rose to prominence as MPA Atif Mazari’s security guard and then as a Punjab police informer till 2007. According to the local police officials, Chotu used to gather and share information regarding crimes in the region.
“He used to specialise in news regarding kidnappings for ransom and robberies,” a police official said. “Now he makes the news himself, for the same crimes that he used to expose.” Locals and police say that Chotu developed differences with police owing to reasons known to him only and went on to form his own gang.
Following the gang’s surrender security officials say that their facilitators will now be targeted, with a list already prepared. Nine aides were arrested over the weekend, with over 100 facilitators already apprehended since the beginning of Zarb-e-Ahan.
While many of Chotu’s relatives are among those arrested, the intelligence officials and police investigators will have their work cut out sifting facilitators from the many locals that supported the Chotu gang.
According to a security official who has been a part of the Operation Zarb-e-Ahan, launched following the Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town blast in Lahore on Easter Sunday, security forces had sealed all entry and exit paths to the river island where the Chotu gang had camped.
“The criminals intermittently dispersed during the 21-day long operation,” the official says. “Some abandoned their posts and ran into the jungle after gunship helicopters shelled their hideouts.”
According to reports Chotu had earlier asked for a safe passage for himself, his family and close accomplices. He wanted to leave for Dubai in exchange for the police hostages.
He was a police informer until 2007
Another official confirmed that Chotu Gang eventually surrendered after being surrounded in the Kacha Jamal area, believed to be its hub. Local tribal leaders, especially those belonging to the Mazari tribe in the Rojhan tehsil, helped facilitate the surrender.
Earlier, on April 18, Army helicopters had dropped pamphlets on the gang, issuing warnings of a sweeping assault if they continued to resist. The pamphlets followed the Punjab government’s formal warning to the gang leader a day earlier, giving him 48 hours to surrender.
Hours before the final surrender, nearby villages were evacuated as the security forces prepared themselves for the decisive offensive.
Rajanpur district coordination officer said curfew had been imposed in the entire Kacha area, which includes Soon Miyani, Kacha Jamal and Katcha Shah Wali. Gunshots and blasts rocked the area amidst curfew in the region.
Emergency was declared in Rahim Yar Khan’s Sheikh Zayed Hospital and the Tehsil Headquarter Hospital in Sadiqabad. According to reports, two wards had been evacuated, with doctors recalled from their leaves.
The 50 square kilometre river island is located in Rojhan, which borders both Balochistan and Sindh. The topography of the island makes it difficult for anyone unfamiliar with the region to penetrate the area.
“The island has elephant grass, which is nearly 15 feet high. The bushes are incredibly dense,” says a Rajanpur-based police official. “Furthermore, all gangs that operate in the tri-border riverine area work in tandem. This means that there is osmosis of gang-members in the region, with all the gangs bailing each other out whenever one of them is in trouble.”
The police official says the fact that multiple operations against Chotu Gang had failed in the past, and army had to be summoned for this operation, shows how difficult it is to catch these gangsters in this area. “They know their way around the area, and can hence escape easily. But more crucially, they have the support of the locals who help their fellow tribesmen escape,” the official says.
Gangs that have joined and overlapped with the Chotu gang include Sindhi group, Bosans, Bilali Jaakha, Gumani Gopang, Baba Long, Khalid Kajlani and others.
“Chotu has never targeted any locals. He, in fact, helps the local villagers whenever he can and this adds to the already strong sense of loyalty among the tribespeople,” the police official says. “He’s treated like Robin Hood by the locals. No wonder security officials have found it virtually impossible to extract any information from the locals.”
After 15 unsuccessful days, which saw six policemen killed and multiple injured, in addition to the ones that were taken hostage, the army was summoned.
On April 15, 40 criminals surrendered as army took charge. Over 1,500 military personnel and 900 paramilitary troops were deployed in the region. Gunships were used in the offensive, with the Chotu gang being equipped with anti-aircraft guns. Twenty police checkpoints had been established from Rajanpur to Guddu Barrage.
Chotu rose to prominence as MPA Atif Mazari’s security guard and then as a Punjab police informer till 2007. According to the local police officials, Chotu used to gather and share information regarding crimes in the region.
“He used to specialise in news regarding kidnappings for ransom and robberies,” a police official said. “Now he makes the news himself, for the same crimes that he used to expose.” Locals and police say that Chotu developed differences with police owing to reasons known to him only and went on to form his own gang.
Following the gang’s surrender security officials say that their facilitators will now be targeted, with a list already prepared. Nine aides were arrested over the weekend, with over 100 facilitators already apprehended since the beginning of Zarb-e-Ahan.
While many of Chotu’s relatives are among those arrested, the intelligence officials and police investigators will have their work cut out sifting facilitators from the many locals that supported the Chotu gang.