Hyderabad police sack 213 constables

Removed officers complain they served in force without getting paid for nearly three years

HYDERABAD: Amid the new wave of terror gripping all parts of the country, the Hyderabad police en masse sacked 213 constables on Wednesday. The dismissal is based on the Supreme Court-ordered inquiry committee's directives, which probed the appointments in the Sindh police in 2014.

Meanwhile, the removed policemen complain that a majority of them served in the force without being paid for almost three years.

"The following constables are hereby discharged from service in pursuance of recommendations of the inquiry report," reads the office order signed by Hyderabad SSP Irfan Baloch. The order contains a list of 213 personnel along with batch number, names, fathers' names and surnames.



The SSP received directives for removal from service from Sindh IG AD Khawaja through Hyderabad DIG.

Among the sacked constables, many were serving in the district's army-trained Anti-Terrorist Force (ATF). According to police spokesperson Mazhar Shani, the force comprised 100 personnel before the sacking. However, he expressed lack of knowledge when asked how many of them have been removed.

Talking to The Express Tribune, the ATF's head inspector, Malik Abbass, confirmed that 20 of his personnel are among the sacked constables. Sources claim that 30 to 40 ATF personnel got the sack. The figure could not be officially confirmed.



According to SSP Baloch, the fired policemen were hired against non-existing vacancies. "They have been discharged for want of vacancies."

Removed officers stage protest

Meanwhile, dozens of redundant policemen resorted to protest, staging a demonstration outside the press club in Hyderabad on Thursday. "We completed training and, being the new recruits, were always given the toughest job assignments. But the government didn't pay us even for a month," bemoaned Sumer Ali Lakho.

Another protester, Muhammad Faizan, claimed that he sold his small agricultural land to meet the expenses of training and, subsequently, job. "We were hoping the government will eventually pay us salaries along with the arrears. But everything turned out to be a farce."

The protesters said the government should also have considered their performance report while in the service instead of taking action on alleged nepotism and bribe-based appointments.



"I travelled 9 times to [the] Afghan border to hand over arrested illegal Afghan immigrants to the Afghan force," said Muhammad Umer Jamali.

The sacked personnel have been given an opportunity of reappointment if they qualify the NTS test. The forms to apply for the test can be received till February 25. The advertisement for the test was published on February 1.

According to the ad, former police personnel who were discharged from service due to irregular recruitment from 2012 to 2015 in all the districts of Sindh are invited to apply.

"We gave written tests and interviews before our appointment. Why should we sit for the test again?" object a removed constable, requesting anonymity.

Some 600 constables against 286 vacancies were appointed in 2014 when SSP Pir Farid Jan Sarhindi headed the Hyderabad district police. Sources in the police said the salaries of 286 constables were also released, starting after 17 months of their service. In total, they were paid salaries for 30 months since July, 2014.

"At least 78 constables among those 213 removed were drawing their monthly salaries," a source requesting anonymity said. "We don't understand why they have been removed." According to the source, 206 policemen from the 2014 appointments are still working in the force.

The Hyderabad police consists of as many as 47 inspectors, 203 sub inspectors, 163 assistant sub inspectors, 416 head constables and 3,563 constables.