68 proclaimed offenders held

Amritsar, January 20

In a campaign against criminal elements, the Amritsar (Rural) police have arrested 68 proclaimed offenders (POs) involved in drug peddling and heinous crimes during the past 20 days.

Satinder Singh, SSP, Amritsar (Rural) said, “A concerted drive has been launched against proclaimed offenders across the border state following the instructions of Gaurav Yadav, DGP, Punjab Police.”

He said a number of the POs arrested during the month of January were involved in cases pertaining to heinous crimes, including robberies, attempted murders and culpable homicides, falling under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.

The SSP said special teams were constituted by the police under the SP-rank official who received day-to-day updates on the arrested POs.

He said as per the data available there were over 500 POs in the police records. The figure fluctuated from time to time as more names were added after a court declared offenders as POs when they did not appear for hearing or could not be arrested despite efforts by the police.