‘Cops holding people illegally will be put into lock-ups’

Bahawalpur RPO said the police’s job was to protect the lives and properties of citizens

BAHALWALPUR: Bahawalpur RPO Ehsan Sadiq and Investigations SP Ghulam Murtaza paid a surprise visit to the Cantt police station on Sunday. They checked the police station’s records, the lock-ups, the armoury and the cleanliness arrangements at the prison.

“Any police officer found illegally detaining civilians in lock-ups will be sent to the same lock-ups,” the RPO told the Cantt police officials.

“It is a police station SHO’s responsibility to know what is going on in a police station.”

He said the police’s job was to protect the lives and properties of citizens. “Cases of petty crime must be closed within a week and suspects should be presented in court without delay.”

While he was checking the police station’s records, the RPO directed the SHO to ensure that all cases under investigation were closed within the week.

“Incomplete challans must be completed on time and presented in courts.”

He also directed the policemen to ensure that items stolen from citizens were returned to their rightful owners.

PFA’s progress report

Punjab Food Authority taskforces in Bahawalpur division have raided 11,946 food outlets and factories manufacturing edibles, they have sent 3,104 samples of food for testing, sealed 103 eateries, registered FIRs against 114 vendors and have arrested 52 people for violating food standard rules and regulations so far, Bahawalpur Commissioner Saqib Zafar said at a meeting on Sunday.  He said the authority had collected Rs5.3 million as fines.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 23^rd, 2016.