Cattle Rustling

Traditionally, cattle rustling (theft) is one of the general crime of the district. Previously, cattle rustlers were committing cattle theft by foot or by using horses. "Khoji" (foot-tracker) was the main man who used to assist the police in detecting the criminals by using the criminal’s footprints and patterns. "Thekri-pehra" (volunteer village watchmen) used to work as an effective strategy for prevention of this crime. Now times have changed. Cattle rustlers are mostly armed with lethal weapons. Mostly, they steal but sometimes they snatch on gunpoint and take the victims along as a hostage. Cattle rustler gangs are ever changing and they enlist criminals from far and wide, like districts of Sindh.

In District Dera Ghazi Khan, incidents of cattle theft mostly occur near Sindh river belt, but the areas of Police Stations PS Drahma, Jhoke Uttra, PS Kala, PS Kot Chutta and PS Saddar Taunsa are the most affected. The extensive networks of river provide an excellent mobility for transporting the stolen cattle through river. With the changing method of crime, the strategy of police is changing as well.