The Punjab Police said on Wednesday that several hideouts of bandits in Katcha Ronti of Punjab’s Rahim Yar Khan were bombed using drones to recover people kidnapped by the reverine gang.

For decades, dozens of bandit gangs armed with sophisticated weaponry have operated with impunity in northern Sindh as well as southern Punjab. Kidnappings for ransom, extortion rackets, brutal killings and robberies on major highways occur on a daily basis.

In a post on X, the Punjab Police said that “an operation against dacoit hideouts was carried out in Rahim Yar Khan’s Kacha Ronti, using drones”.

“The operation left multiple dacoits injured,” the statement added.

Punjab Inspector General of Police Dr Usman Anwar commended the efforts of the police and was quoted as saying, “Punjab Police is fully utilising drone technology not only to assist flood-affected people but also to eliminate criminal elements.”

On August 1, five cops were martyred after bandits of the Katcha area attacked a police checkpoint in Rahim Yar Khan.

In March, three people were allegedly shot dead by dacoits in the Jamaldin Wali area of tehsil Sadiqabad near the Indus River, to avenge the murder of a YouTuber.