Irregularities found in Lahore police’s ammunition stores

Inner parts of weapons rusted, empty shells being loaded into magazines

LAHORE: Discrepancies have been unearthed in the Lahore police’s ammunition stores. The irregularities highlight the conditions under which weapons are stored and the lack of proper care, custody and inspection.

The irregularities were disclosed during an inquiry conducted by a committee from the Central Police Office (CPO). The committee conducted inspection of Police Lines Qila Gujjar Singh and ten police stations.

It was also revealed that the inner parts of weapons were rusted and empty shells were being loaded into magazines. Moreover, the responsibility of overseeing the weapons was not being fulfilled by the moharrars. The committee recommended a proper and detailed inspection of weapons, ammunition and other relevant items throughout the province at a district level.

Five dead as bomb rips through police van in Quetta

The committee directed field officers to ensure that moharrars assume responsibility of the weapons. It also recommended a regular inspection of the weapons at a circle level as well as classes for handling and maintaining weapons at a district level. The committee recommended holding SHOs responsible for any embezzlement in weapons and ammunition.

The IG office has given a deadline of August 31 to comply with the above mentioned orders and has directed to submit compliance reports at a monthly basis.

This is not the first inquiry to point out discrepancies in the Punjab police’s ammunition store. Last year, an inquiry revealed that only 126 of the 245 pistols procured by the force were genuine, Beretta pistols while the rest were fake. The presence of the fake pistols was discovered after a forensic analysis was conducted.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 2^nd, 2019.