Uniform a must for on-duty cops

HYDERABAD:

Hyderabad DIG Naeem Ahmed Shaikh has barred police officials from wearing plainclothes while patrolling in their jurisdictions. In correspondence with nine SSPs in the Hyderabad range, he warned that police officials violating these directives would face disciplinary action, while the SSPs too would be held responsible for 'poor supervision.' He observed that SHOs, in particular, either did not patrol in their remits or wore plainclothes and travelled in private vehicles while doing so. "It draws a negative image [of the] police among the public. Such attitude on part of the SHOs and their subordinates is tantamount to misconduct," he wrote. The directives appear to be in response to a video circulating on social media, showing a Kotri SHO in plainclothes walking through a market which his private vehicles moved slowly behind him.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 27^th, 2020.