Five Punjab police officials arrested in Sukkur

They picked up three men from Airport Road, Sukkur, without informing relevant police station

SUKKUR: The Sukkur police arrested on Sunday five officials of the Punjab police, who had picked up three men from Airport Road, Sukkur, without informing the police station concerned.

Five officials of the Punjab police, including two assistant sub-inspectors, raided a place at Airport Road, Sukkur, in a double-cabin vehicle and picked up three men identified as Sharif Khoso, Farid Khoso and Abdullah Jatoi. The residents of the area, perceiving the matter as a kidnapping, informed the police.

The Sukkur police immediately informed the Kashmore-Kandhkot and Ghotki police, which started checking all the vehicles, especially the double cabins. Finally, they intercepted a double cabin near Ghauspur and arrested all the five officials of Punjab police and recovered the three persons from their captivity.



After their arrest, the Punjab police officials told the Sukkur police that they belong to the Kot Sabzal police station and had arrested these men because they are nominated in an FIR registered by a man named Rao Shakir.

Confirming the incident, Sukkur SSP Amjad Ahmed Shaikh told The Express Tribune that the officials of Punjab police, in violation of the codal formalities, neither informed the Airport police about the arrest of the men nor bothered to make an entry with the relevant police before taking them away.

He further said that a builder, Rao Shakir, had registered an FIR against Sharif Khoso and others at the Kot Sabzal police station. “The Punjab police should have informed us before taking any action but their direct action sparked panic among the people, who mistook it as kidnapping,” he said, adding that further investigations are underway.



A Rahim Yar Khan-based reporter quoted the SHO of Kot Sabzal police station, Jam Aijaz, as saying that the builder, Rao Shakir, had registered an FIR against Sharif Khoso and others. He further said that two ASIs and three police constables went to Sukkur on Sunday and arrested the nominated persons. According to the SHO, the arrest of the policemen is due to some misunderstanding and the matter will be resolved soon.

Rao Shakir is a builder and has a big stake in Sukkur Township situated at the Airport Road, Sukkur. The ownership of the land of Sukkur Township, since its establishment, has remained disputed. Two years ago, an armed clash had taken place between the groups of Rao Shakir and Sharif Khoso. It has earlier been reported that the Punjab police often raid the bordering areas of Sindh in Ghotki and Kashmore districts, pick up the villagers and leave without informing the police concerned. As a result, sometimes their officials are arrested by the Sindh police.