RAWALPINDI: Concerned about the rising crime rate in the garrison city, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab Amir Zulfiqar Khan sprang into action by removing the superintendent of police and suspending the deputy superintendent of police Saddar division and the station house officer (SHO) of Rawat.

SP Saddar Division Nabeel Khokhar has been transferred and directed to report to the Central Police Office Lahore for negligence in his duty while DSP Saddar Division Waqar Azeem and SHO Rawat along with an investigation officer were suspended for implicating a citizen in a murder case.

Besides, the IGP ordered the registration of FIRs against a sub-inspector and suspension of former SHO Ratta Amral for abuse of power and poor investigation. Additionally, the police chief also ordered the Regional Police Officer (RPO) to take departmental and legal action against both the police officers and to send a report to him.

The IGP, who had been in the garrison city since Tuesday, chaired a crime meeting which was attended by RPO, CPO, SPs, DSPs and SHOs at the Police Lines Rawalpindi on Friday.

The IGP was concerned about the police performance and increase in street crime as hardly a day passed when the city did not witness over 50 incidents of street crime, especially armed robberies and motorcycle thefts.

IGP says crackdown should be accelerated against criminals

Citizens, even inside their homes, have been feeling insecure with some parents advising their children to stay inside as cell phone snatching, motorcycle theft and killing during robberies have become a common crime in the city.

In 19 days of the first month of 2023, as many as 252 motorcycles have been stolen, 35 snatched at gunpoint besides 190 robberies, 16 murders, two of them during armed robberies, and 43 car thefts in Rawalpindi which is under the control of City Police Officer (CPO) Shahzad Nadeem Bukhari.

While addressing the crime meeting, the IGP said: “Put yourself in place of the citizens who come to the police stations and feel their pain to resolve their problems. By trying this formula, you can truly become a servant and protector of people’s life and property.” Former SHO Ratta Amral Shakeel Ahmed has been suspended for abuse of power and a faulty investigation while a case has been ordered against sub-inspector Shabbir Ahmed.

The IGP also ordered to establish CIA centres in all districts of Rawalpindi region and to develop them on modern lines. Strict legal action should be taken on incident of motorcycle thefts and aerial firing, said the IGP.

“If an official is martyred due to negligence of a supervisory officer, I will not hesitate to take action against that officer,” the IGP warned.

The IGP directed Commandant Police College Sihala DIG Ashfaq Ahmad Khan to conduct a six-day training course on scientific methods of custodial interrogation in the college for CIA personnel.

while giving instructions to the officers, the IGP said crackdown should be accelerated against criminals involved in organised crime.

He said in those circles where the crime rate did not decrease, the SHOs as well as the circle officers should be asked to answer.

He said that despite provision of resources, officers who failed to achieve the desired goals of crime control should be ready for facing action. He directed the additional IG operations to write a letter to all DPOs to submit certificates stating that dues and pension arrears had been paid to all officials who retired in 2021 and 2022.

The IGP directed that action against land grabbers and their facilitators involved in the seizure of citizens’ properties should be sped up and special teams should be formed to make the region free from the scourge of drugs by arresting smugglers and dealers.

He said that the SPs should spend most of their time in the field and bring down the crime rate by putting criminals in jails with effective supervision.

Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2023