LAHORE: Inspector General of Police Dr Usman Anwar has transferred Lahore Dolphin Force SP Zohaib Nasrullah Ranjha allegedly as a punishment when the Dolphin Police intercepted a vehicle near Jati Umra, Raiwind, for having tinted glasses and the man travelling in the car was said to be close to the PML N’s top leadership.

According to some conflicting reports, the Dolphin Force personnel demanded a bribe from the man to let him go while the police personnel denied allegations, saying “they had followed the orders of the Lahore police high-ups to show zero tolerance towards unauthorised persons using window tints”.

However, the unidentified car rider complained to the PML-N leadership and his phone call led to the transfer of the SP Dolphin Force, according to highly-placed sources.

An official, privy to the development, told Dawn the incident occurred at around 8pm on Friday when the influential man was coming back from the residence of PML-N supremo Mian Nawaz Sharif. As soon as the man called, the Lahore police faced a jolt, making the senior officers, including SP Dolphin Force, SP Saddar, ASPs and DSPs of the relevant circles, rush to the site to ‘manage’ the situation.

The source said Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz expressed her annoyance at the police for demanding bribe from the close friend of the PML-N leadership though the Dolphin personnel denied it, saying the car was stopped for having tinted windows. The IGP issued an order to inquire into the matter without wasting time.

The police force has kept the identity of the car rider involved in the incident hidden and even the police officers on top posts are unaware of his identity.

The official source said that SP Dolphin Zohaib Ranjha was already in hot water due to a sharp surge in street crime. He was facing a tough time from Punjab Safe City Authority Managing Director Ahsan Younis and DIG Operations Faisal Kamran for the last many weeks. The situation turned further hostile for him when Lahore’s divisional SPs and the SHOs also complained many times to the Lahore DIG Operations that the Dolphin Force was not responding to the crime calls effectively, leading to the crime surge in the provincial capital.

Following frequent complaints, the DIG Operations had expressed his strong annoyance, reprimanding Mr Zohaib to improve performance or face the music.

The SP defended his position each time, giving counter arguments that the divisional SPs and SHOs were misleading the Lahore police high-ups as the Dolphin Force couldn’t fight street crime in isolation but it could do that only with coordination of all wings of police. He briefed the high-ups that 279 teams of the Dolphin Force were patrolling in the city, alleging that the divisional SPs and SHOs were shifting their ‘negligence’ to his Dolphin Force to escape departmental action. He said the Dolphin personnel were doing their best by patrolling extensively in scorching heat by wearing heavy safety jackets and helmets. He also defended his force by showing the record of arrested hardened criminals after tough chases.

The Lahore police authorities rejected his claims, holding the ineffective patrolling as the major factors behind the crime increase in Lahore.

The official said Friday’s night event added further fuel to the fire, providing a golden opportunity to the Lahore police high-ups to punish the SP.

Interestingly, Punjab Safe City Authority MD Ahsan Younis is holding the additional charge of the DIG Headquarters of the Punjab Police, the high-profile post that dealt with the transfer and postings of all officers from the DSP and above.

As Mr Younis was unhappy with the performance of SP Dolphin Zohaib Ranjha, he played a decisive role, convincing the IGP to show Ranjha the door and replace him with any other police officer.

The official said Dr Usman Anwar prepared a summary with the consultation of the DIG Headquarters and moved the same to the CM. She accorded approval and a notification of the transfer of SP Zohaib Ranjha was issued later on Saturday.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2024