KARACHI: Amid growing number of encounters between police and alleged armed robbers and criminals, the police authorities have asked ambulance services in the city to take the wounded policemen to one of the largest private hospitals in the metropolis instead of taking them to the public hospitals.

The request is apparently made in an attempt to provide better treatment to the policemen and at the same time keep a check on the authenticity of police encounters.

The development came in a letter sent from DIG CIA to the authorities of the Edhi Foundation and the Chhipa Welfare Organisation — the two largest private ambulance service operators in Karachi — to avoid shifting the policemen wounded in encounters to government hospitals.

The official asked the two charity organisations to move the personnel to the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) in case of any gunshot wound.

“I am directed by the additional IG Karachi Range to inform you that as per existing policy the police personnel having gunshot injuries are required to be forthwith shifted to Aga Khan University Hospital [AKUH],” said the letter.

Ambulance services told to rush wounded policemen to AKUH under new policy

“Since your organisations are engaged in responding such emergencies and shifting the injured police personnel to various hospitals through ambulance service, the staff concerned may be asked in case of receiving any information about gunshot injuries to the police personnel, the wounded policemen may be shifted to the Aga Khan University Hospital only, instead of taking them to any government hospital.”

When contacted by Dawn, DIG CIA Muhammad Karim Khan said that the decision was part of efforts being made from the top for better treatment to those personnel, who showed bravery in line of duty and suffered wounds.

He added that the emergency treatment and care at the AKUH was found to be much better than other hospitals and therefore the police authorities had decided to offer best treatment to the injured personnel at the department’s expense.

‘Undue favour’

Sources privy to the move, however, added that there was another point in the latest move from the police authorities.

They believe that by shifting of wounded police personnel to one of the ‘largest, well-organised and disciplined hospitals’ in the city it would not be possible for the personnel to get any ‘undue favour’ from the people at the helm at the private health facility.

However, on the other hand, it is said to be easy for police personnel to give any ‘twist’ to any medico-legal case at government hospitals by using their influence due to various reasons.

“The fake encounters are not such new phenomena,” they added.

“In many fake encounters the police party in order to strengthen its case move to government hospitals with fake wounds of personnel. Sometimes the wounds and injuries are self-inflicted only to prove authenticity of an encounter and show the damage on both sides. For that the government hospitals and the medico legal sections are put under pressure and coerced to offer support to the police. They manage to get reports they wanted. But this kind of work would not be easy at the AKUH.”

‘Proactive’ policing

It is pertinent to mention here that the city has witnessed an unprecedented surge in police encounters in recent times.

Following a ‘proactive’ policing policy, the city police appear to have become more aggressive in chasing suspects and challenging them in ‘encounters’, which leads to over 250 incidents of exchange of gunfire all across the city from January to April 8 in which 27 suspects had been killed and around 300 others wounded.

From January 1 to April 8, as many as 27 alleged robbers had been killed and 294 others wounded in 254 alleged encounters in the metropolis.

The number of suspects arrested by the police stood at 2,345 during the period mentioned.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2022