IG opposes punishing cops before probe

Stresses timely decision on appeals filed by officials

LAHORE:

While no significant headway has been made on a proposal for court martial of police personnel involved in serious offences, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab Inam Ghani chaired a meeting to discuss the accountability mechanism in the department.

Ghani said on the occasion that it should be mandatory to hold a regular inquiry before a subordinate was given a major punishment so that the conviction would not be overturned and the official facing such action did not become a part of the force again.

He further said that heavy penalties for minor errors and irregularities could lead to lowering the morale of the force. Therefore, the disciplinary matrix formulated by the Central Police Office should be taken into consideration while giving punishments and officers who give major punishment to subordinate staff without regular inquiries should be made answerable for the act through issuance of letters seeking explanation.

The further said that if the appellate authority deemed it necessary to re-investigate a matter, a regular inquiry officer should be appointed and timeframe fixed. He said that by November 10 all RPOs and DPOs should complete the audit of their offices and inform the additional IG establishment about the latest status of appeals filed by officials, show cause notices issued to them and decisions needed in this regard.

He called for upgrading the Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS) for timely updating the record of appeals of all personnel and decisions taken on them.

He said the appellate authority should ensure that all the appeals are decided in a timely manner and explanation should be sought from officers found delaying such cases. In case of unsatisfactory response, departmental action should not be avoided, he added.

The provincial police chief was informed about the punishments handed down to personnel in all districts of the province this year.

The IGP said the Central Police Office should play its supervisory and monitoring role more effectively in such matters.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 4^th, 2020.