Inquiry ordered for ‘shoplifting’ DSP

A deputy superintendent of police, caught pilfering from shops on camera, appeared to have survived the threat of suspension despite an incriminating account of his alleged offences from the Hyderabad SSP.

AIG Ghulam Qadir Thebo ordered on Wednesday an inquiry against the Chalgari SDPO, DSP Faheem Ahmed Farooqui, but without suspending him, to the reported dismay of several officials.

The inquiry, which will be conducted by Jamshoro SSP Amjad Shaikh, has been ordered in response to SSP Adeel Hussain Chandio's letter written to the AIG on Tuesday, forwarded by Hyderabad DIG Naeem Ahmed Shaikh. "Two videos aired on television channels and shared on social media have damaged credibility of DSP Farooqui and brought a bad name to the Sindh Police," wrote the SSP.

A video clip captured at Dawood Super Mart on Autobahn Road went viral on social media on June 25, showing Farooqui being stopped by security guards for a search and a packet of stolen cashew nuts being found on his person. He later paid for the stolen nuts and left.

In the second clip, shared on Saturday, the DSP allegedly shoplifted aloe-vera gel from National Super Mart in Hala Naka, but was once again caught by store guards. "The video clip received from the mart's CCTV camera depicts this activity and incident," the SSP wrote.

The police later contacted relevant persons at the two stores, who verified the incidents but refused to take legal action against Farooqui.

In May, Farooqui was removed from the post of Phuleli SDPO after a tussle with Pinyari SHO Niaz Panhwar, who was also suspended. Both policemen had accused each other of corruption. However, on June 25, AIG Thebo once again gave him the post of in Chalgari, an area in Hyderabad rural.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 2^nd, 2020.