KARACHI: Three court policemen had been dismissed from services and four other policemen given final show-cause notice following the escape of a high-profile accused involved in the kidnapping of two girls in Defence Housing Authority.

Officials said that some 200 other policemen serving at courts had been transferred in a major security review carried out by the police.

Newly appointed court police SP Abid Husain Qaimkhani recently told Dawn that court police Sub-Inspector (SI) Mohammed Ashraf and Constables Sultan Mehmood and Yaseen, were awarded major punishment of ‘dismissal from service’ as four undertrial prisoners (UTPs) escaped in December 2021 in separate incidents.

According to official papers seen by Dawn, dismissed SI Ashraf had brought UTP Asif from Central Prison Karachi to antiterrorism courts (ATC) in Clifton on Dec 28, 2021. When the SI was bringing back the UTP to the lock-up, he ran away in handcuffs along with the officer’s phone. It transpired during the inquiry that the SI was also providing cell phone facilities to the escaped UTP, who took ‘advantage’ and ran away from their custody.

A case was registered against the SI at the Boat Basin police station, and an inquiry was initiated against him. It was revealed that the judge of the ATC was on vacations when the policeman took the accused to the court and helped the accused by providing his personal mobile phone to him.

“Providing facilities to the UTPs by any mean are strictly not allowed, the inquiry officer [IO] recommended for major punishment to him [SI Ashraf] for being negligent, irresponsible, careless and undutiful and because of his negligence, the UTP Asif succeeded to escape,” the contents of the report said.

The replies from the SI were termed unsatisfactory and he was dismissed from the service.

Regarding the other dismissed constable, Sultan Mehmood, the official papers said that he brought two UTPs namely Nasir Malik and Zahid from Central Prison to the West District Judge on Dec 4, 2021 for trial cases. Both the accused managed to escape from the legal custody handcuffed due to his negligence. The constable was arrested by the City Courts police. The constable submitted ‘written as well as oral explanation, which were declared ‘unsatisfactory’, thus he was also dismissed from the service’.

Third dismissed constable Yaseen had brought the UTP Waseem Iqbal from the prison to the City Courts on Dec 4, 2021, when Waseem escaped ‘through roof of lock-up of City Courts by unlocking the upper door due to ‘sheer negligence’ of the constable’.

Meanwhile, City SP Mr Qaimkhani said a ‘final show-cause’ notice had been given to four arrested policemen as the UTP Zohaib Qureshi, the main accused behind kidnapping of young girls namely Bisma Saleem and Dua Mangi in Defence Housing Authority had managed to escape recently.

The senior officer said that it was a ‘serious offence’ that the said UTP was brought by the held policemen to a shopping mall on Tariq Road for some shopping from where he managed to escape. He revealed that during preliminary inquiry, it transpired that the held policemen had also taken the UTP Qureshi to his home as well in Gulshan-i-Hadeed.

The Court SP said there were estimated 200 court policemen responsible for bringing the UTPs to courts from the prison, but they had been serving on the same post for a long and considerable period, and there were reports that they were involved in ‘suspicious activities’.

Therefore, Mr Qaimkhani revealed that recently he approached newly appointed city police chief, Additional Inspector General Ghulam Nabi Memon, who had ordered transfer of 200 court policemen. The policemen serving at different units/zones of the police had been appointed as court policemen.

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2022