RAWALPINDI: The inspector general of Punjab has asked the Rawalpindi regional police officer in to provide details of cases, including those related to the May 9 violence, filed against former prime minister Imran Khan, following a writ petition filed by his sister in a court.

In response to the IGP’s directive, RPO Babar Sarfraz Alpa issued a reminder to the Rawalpindi city police officer and district police officers (DPOs) of Attock and Jhelum, seeking reasons for the delay in submitting challans for cases filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

The RPO expressed dissatisfaction with the police responses, deeming them “unsatisfactory”.

Upon reviewing the report submitted to him, the RPO found the reasons for the delay in the submission of reports under Section 173 CrPC to be inadequate, with many citing incomplete challans.

According to sources, the IGP asked the DPOs to submit detailed reports based on their investigations into the cases against the former prime minister.

These reports will be submitted to the police legal branch by Thursday, for presentation in court.

The IGP also sought a comprehensive report on cases related to the May 9 violence, warning that police officials would be held accountable if the reports were found to be incorrect.

The court had directed the submission of a report explaining the reasons for the delay in these cases, irrespective of whether the challans were complete or incomplete.

Earlier, RPO Alpa had already sent reminders to the DPOs, urging them to submit interim challans for the cases registered under ATA. He expressed concern over the non-submission of numerous reports under Section 173 CrPC despite a considerable amount of time passing since the FIRs were filed.

According to the law, after an FIR is registered and witness statements are recorded, the investigating officer is required to submit either a complete or incomplete report within 33 days.

The ATC judge warned that failure by the police to submit the report would be considered willful disobedience, which could result in punishment for contempt of court.

The of ATC court judge in Rawalpindi had previously directed the RPO to address the issue of non-submission of challans in ATA cases. Following the notice on Oct 23, the RPO sought explanations from SSP (Investigation) Saba Sattar, and the DSP (legal) regarding the delay in submitting the challans.

RPO Alpa directed them to investigate and submit the required reports.

Additionally, the RPO sent letters to the DPOs and SSP Rawalpindi, seeking details of cases filed under the ATA from 2020 to 2024, including the reasons for delays in submitting challans and the status of cases that remained pending or untraceable.

Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2024