1,800 illegally appointed cops dismissed: IG

Sindh police chief informs standing committee of action taken in his dept

KARACHI: Around 1,800 policemen, illegally appointed between 2012 and 2014, have been dismissed, said Sindh IG Allah Dino Khawaja on Wednesday. "These cops were appointed in the Sindh Reserve Police," he told the home department's standing committee, adding that 1,100 policemen were given the job in 2012, while 860 were inducted in 2014.

"During our investigation, we learned that 80% of the cops belong to one district and 400 had identical height and chest measurements," he said, without identifying the district.



"Some senior police officials, after receiving substantial amounts of money, issued fake orders to hundreds of cops who finished their training but unfortunately these cops have now been stopped from performing their duties," said Syed Owais Qadir Shah, chairperson of the meeting.



"We want to know what action will be taken against those officials who have gotten bribes from these innocent people," he asked the IG, who responded that "exemplary punishment" will be given to those involved.

The chairperson asked the IG why the Sukkur police purchased jet fuel worth Rs10 million. "Can you please inform us of the purchases during the tenure of the outgoing IG?" asked Shah. "Do you have any jets in the police department?" he asked.

"There is misappropriation of police fuel but I cannot disclose the details in front of all the participants," said the IG, offering to brief the committee members during an in-camera briefing.

He said the police do not have sufficient vehicles and most of the vehicles are used for protocol and security of politicians as well as rallies or public meetings in Larkana.

"There is a 10 litre petrol per day limit for every police station, which is insufficient. We are devising a mechanism to resolve this issue and hope the government will help us," he said.

Regarding the law and order situation, the IG appreciated the role of the police and law enforcement agencies, saying, "There is not a single case of kidnapping pending in Sindh."





When asked about short-term kidnapping cases, especially in Karachi, he said, "These cases have also been drastically reduced."

He disclosed that international players are involved in worsening law and order in Karachi.  "During investigations we found a lot of evidence of foreign players behind the unrest in the city," he claimed.

MPA Ghulam Qadir Chandio raised the issue of compensation for families of martyred cops, to which the IG said 70% of the pending cases have been resolved. He said 12 cops have been killed in the last five months and 90 were gunned down last year.

When asked about compensation to martyred cops' families, the IG referred to the Sindh government policy and said Rs2 million is being provided to the families. He proposed a raise in this to make it at par with the Punjab government's compensation of Rs4 million.

Khurram Zaki

Later, speaking to the media, Khawaja said there has been no breakthrough in the murder investigation of social activist Khurram Zaki. "It seems that a new group has become active in the city and has started targeting people. The weapon used in Zaki's murder has never been used in any earlier case," he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2016.