Case closed: ‘Police seeing no evil, hearing no evil’

Crime rate drops as locals say their FIRs are not being registered

LAHORE: At the end of year, senior Lahore Police were boasting that crime had reduced drastically thanks to the Dolphin Squad, Police Response Unit and smart-policing through IT-based initiatives.

On the other hand, investigations by The Express Tribune revealed that crime was still rampant and lower rates were reported thanks to the fact that FIRs were not registered in cases.

An officer, requesting anonymity, said the refusal to register FIRs in snatching cases was a policy of senior police officers to dupe people into thinking that crime had reduced.

“They are very much aware of every complaint received through the Complaint Information Management System, a centralised computer-based mechanism. Every officer can monitor a compliant while sitting at his office. In such circumstances, how was it possible that a victim was robbed and his complaint went unnoticed and the FIR not registered?”

Meanwhile, police officers, in their statements to the media, claimed crime had decreased. A social media page of the Lahore Police claimed that crime had dropped by 42% in 2017. Civil Lines SP Ali Raza also reiterated the claim of reduced incidents.

However, sources said all these claims were baseless as there were many victims who complained of robbery, but the FIRs were not registered. Muhammad Naveed, a government official, told The Express Tribune that he was looted in Johar Town by two armed men on a bike. “When they tried to snatch my bike, I resisted as it was a brand new. When they aimed to shoot at me, my friend convinced me to hand them over keys. I complied.” He added the bandits were in a hurry and failed to open the lock of the bike. Meanwhile, two vehicles of neighboring houses arrived on the street and the bikers fled.

“A lot of people were witness to it”, he said. “It was a horrible day for me. I was married just a few weeks ago and staring death in the face was a terrifying experience.”

He proceeded to register a complaint to the police who assured a case would be lodged. He pursued the case for some time and visited the police station on at four occasions, but an FIR was not registered. “After a few visits, I was dejected and gave up pursuing the case,” he added.

Kamran Khan, a young businessman, met the same fate in November on Walton Road in the Factory Area police precincts. Sharing his ordeal, he recalled robbers had snatched his mobile phone and purse. When he called the police, a team reached the spot and heard his story. However, they added that the complaint would not be entertained if he was unable to provide his cell phone’s EMI number. “Even then, I registered a complaint but no action has been taken so far,” he bemoaned.

Mrs Idrees was also robbed in front of Harbancepura police station. Her husband told The Express Tribune that he registered a complaint with the police and pursued the matter by visiting the station three or four times. “At the end, I gave up on my efforts as there is more to life than visiting police stations,” he said.

Hafiz Taimoor, a student, said he was robbed at a chowk at midnight in Ghalib Market. The suspects took two mobile phones and his purse. He registered a complaint with the police who reached the scene, but decided to take no action. Later, he gave up on the matter as he had to appear for exams. A senior officer claimed that FIRs of two dozen such incidents were not registered on a daily basis in the city.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2017.