‘Dolphin Squad’s actions violated SOPs’

An FIR has been registered against four members for injuring youth

LAHORE: Standard operating procedures (SOP) were clearly violated in the Guru Mangat incident in which the ‘elite’ Dolphin Squad shot and injured a youth, said an officer wishing to remain anonymous.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, the officer revealed that in a meeting after the incident in Nishtar Colony, where a Christian woman was killed by the Dolphin Squad, Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Arif Nawaz issued clear cut orders. Officials abusing their power and ignoring SOPs have no place in the police department, he quoted the IGP as saying.

Typically, when officials encounter a suspect, they follow set guidelines. First, they make an effort to chase the suspect if they are in the process of fleeing. At the same time, the team is supposed to call for back up, he explained.

In this particular case, officials directly resorted to firing, he said. Secondly, the force is told to open fire only as a mode of self-defence. However, since the suspect did not show any aggression, there was no need for guns. He added that there were no eyewitness accounts or evidence which suggest that the suspect tried to attack the team.

Moreover, all across the world, it is the norm to shift the injured to a hospital. This is also explicitly stated in the Dolphin Squad’s SOPs. The force not only violated these procedures, but also acted inhumane by taking the injured to a police station, he expressed.

“The Dolphin Squad is a patrolling force, whose job is to respond to calls received on the 15 helpline and to arrest suspects and hand them over to area police,” he said. Further legal proceedings fall in the area police’s domain, he said.

Therefore, the team overstepped their authority by taking the suspect to the police station where they physically assaulted him in an effort to extract a statement which would vindicate them, he added.

FIR registered

On Thursday, an FIR was registered against four members of the Dolphin Squad team under charges of an attempt to commit murder, following the incident that took place on June 19.

The case was registered on the complaint of the victim’s father Abdul Rasheed under Sections 324 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code. Sections about misusing authority, torture, illegal detention and intimidation were not added to the FIR.

The victim’s father said that his son, Umar Raza, was returning home after buying medicines for his ailing mother from Liberty Market when four members from Dolphin Squad Team No 37, identified as Rafaqat, Asif, Zeeshan and Waseem, signalled for him to stop.

Raza failed to comply with their orders. As a result, officials open fired and shot the victim in the leg. Instead of shifting him to a hospital, officials took the victim to Gulberg police station where they physically assaulted him and coerced him into signing a statement.

Later, they shifted him to Lahore Services Hospital. The officials had been suspended after the incident and an inquiry had been initiated against them. IGP Arif Nawaz had also taken notice of the incident.

Not an isolated incident

This is not the first such incident that has been reported. A few weeks ago, the Dolphin Squad shot dead a woman in Nishtar Colony.

The victim was identified as Nasreen Waris Maseeh. The victim’s husband Waris Maseeh stated that they were on the way back to Youhanabad from the Punjab Institute of Cardiology. However, when they were near Bank Stop, Ashiana Road, Dolphin Squad Team No 192 opened fire.

As a result, the victim sustained a bullet injury to the head. She was rushed to the hospital, but could not survive.

After the incident, the matter was taken up at the highest level and refresher courses for the Dolphin Squad were initiated. However, the most recent incident shows that the steps are not producing the desired results.

Last year, the force shot dead a man with an intellectual disability. The suspect was armed with a knife and attacking citizens, but the force resorted to using gunfire despite the fact that they have been taught how to disarm an individual.

In addition to this incident, a teenage boy was shot dead after being caught in the crossfire of the Dolphin Squad chasing suspected robbers.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 21^st, 2019.