Daily Times

KARACHI: Approximately 10 million daily is being extorted from the shops of district central including meat and milk shops along with fruit and other grocery shops on daily bases in the holy month of Ramadan.

This extortion is being collected by one notorious beater namely Raees by using the name of Deputy Commissioner Central Captain retired Farid-ud-din’s office, some of the shopkeepers told Daily Times on the condition of anonymity.

Districts central is one of the most populated and busiest district of Karachi’s five district which comprising on 42 union councils top of the list in whole Pakistan in terms of UCs.

District Central has around over 25 thousand shops in Liaqatabad, Nazimabad, North Nazimabad, North Karachi, Federal B Area, and New Karachi.

In a survey, conducted by Daily Times on the continuous requests by some shop keepers it has surfaced that beater Raees is collecting 2000 to 10,000 every week from these shops of District Central.

It is pertinent to mention that to give relief to the people, government has setup a system in which DCs of all districts are assigned with the duties to check the locale markets and shops to ensure that bakery items, fruits, meat {mutton and beef}, poultry, sweets and nimco, milk and vegetables are being sold according to the price list, and if not they can take appropriate action against them either by imposing fine on them or register cases against them in relevant police stations.

But rather to facilitate people some elements, being in the system have been using the powers to make illegal and extra income by threatening the shop keepers, if they would pay the bribe money they won’t be checked, but will be brought under extra monitoring otherwise.

In the survey it revealed that Raees has the whole team with him who extort money on the behalf of him from thousands of shops located in different areas of District Central on daily bases.

Members of the team have defined the areas and shops, they have to approach to collect money from every day, next day they target other areas and shops, they select.

Nearly two thousand to ten thousand rupees are being collected every day from the selected shops which collectively at last shaped into a handsome amount around ten million daily.

According to the shopkeepers money is being collected in the name of DC Central but they don’t know how many persons take their share from this amount.

When contacted DC Central Farid-ud-din, by Daily Times for his views, he denied that any person with the name of Raees works under him. He asked the shopkeepers help him identify the extortionist so that punitive action could be taken.