Punjab Police to buy six GSM locators

Equipment will be handed over to police in three to four months

LAHORE:

Punjab Police is all set to purchase six GSM locators as part of the induction of the latest technology to curb the criminals. The process has been initiated and the latest 4G/5G locators will be handed over to the police within three to four months timespan. GSM locators are used to tracking down the exact location of a criminal at large through his phone.

Punjab Police had realised a serious gap that it was using outdated GSM locator technology and had badly felt the need for it also during the hunt of the motorway gang rape accused person Abid Malhi.

He had gone into hiding and when police following him reached his village, he fled from the scene.

Reportedly, it was because of the use of outdated 2-G GSM locators technology. There was a gap between raiding police teams and the GSM locators team due to the use of outdated technology. the criminals equipped themselves with the latest technology that came into the market. However, the process of up-gradation of the Punjab Police was a little slow

In addition to it, Punjab Police had only three GSM locators currently one each available with Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi.

Punjab Police has a plan to equip each range of the province with at least one 4-G GSM locator. The six GSM locators were part of that campaign.

The realisation was made during the case of the Abid Malhi hunt and then CCPO Umer Shoaib Sheikh had even written to IGP Punjab in this regard.

then IGP Inam Ghani forwarded a summary in February 2021 to the government of Punjab to purchase three GSM locators. The estimated cost at that time was being projected at Rs300 million. The proposal was made for the next financial year also. However, Ghani was eventually transferred and due to a few other reasons, the project was put on the backburner.

Substantial progress to acquire the GSM locators has been kick-started by the Logistics Branch of Punjab Police according to documents available with The Express Tribune.

The Logistics Branch has asked for the interest of different companies that are providing the services in Pakistan, their rates and the specifications in the first phase.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 20^th, 2022.