The investigation wing of Rawalpindi police has failed to submit complete challans in more than 80 per cent of cases registered at 34 police stations across the district from January to April this year.
According to data submitted in various courts, a total of 24,876 cases were registered at the 34 police stations of Rawalpindi district. 0
Of those, investigation teams presented complete challans of only 4,518 cases – or 18 per cent - in the courts. The complete challans for over 20,000 cases were never submitted.
The police did file incomplete or interim challans in over 7,000 cases though. But complainants and critics of the criminal justice system call it a ploy on the part of the police to pave the way for the release of the accused.
On the other hand, the performance of women police stations was diametrically opposed to the male police stations even though it handled a handful of cases. A total of 15 cases were registered at the station during this period. The women police submitted 11 complete challans as well as two incomplete ones.
Investigation Superintendent of Police (SP) Zunera Azfar has failed to take any notable disciplinary action against the investigating officers (IOs) who routinely fail to submit complete case challans to the courts. She claimed that the decline in numbers was due to high contingent of police being busy with ‘(security at) cricket matches, and other law and order issues’.
In the given period, the highest number of cases were registered at the New Town police station. However, they submitted complete challans in only 344 out of 2,420 cases – or in one in seven cases.
Sadiqabad police station came in second with 2,254 cases registered during this period. The police station’s performance was even worse, with 178 complete challans submitted to the courts.
Naseerabad police station had third highest number of cases with 1,877. Of those, the complete challans of 562 cases were submitted to the courts.
The law requires the IO to submit the challan within 14 days from the recording of the first investigation report (FIR). If the IO fails to submit the complete challan within the stipulated time, they are required to submit an incomplete challan in the next three days.
Moreover, the numbers do not tell the whole story. The majority of complete challans submitted to the courts involve cases of petty crime, theft, gambling, alcoholism, drug dealing, minor fights, vagrancy, arms recovery, girls running away from their homes, aerial firing, fireworks and kite flying.
In heinous crimes, the police often failed to present the complete challan. These cases include kidnapping, abduction for adultery, murder, robbery, and the forcible seizure of property.
In a number of such case instead of the constitutional period of 14 days, the police often takes as long as a year or even more to submit the complete challan. However, they file incomplete or interim challans to ‘appease the higher-ups or court officials’, said one person who was a complainant in a criminal case.
The incomplete and interim challan, they said, benefit the criminals involved in these heinous crimes.
If the complete challan isn’t submitted within the time limit stipulated for it, the court is bound to grant bail to those accused who have spent a substantial amount of time in prison.
In many cases, open and shut cases never resulted in prosecution because of this tactic and resulted in criminals getting bail after six or nine months.
Over and over again
The situation was equally bad last year and in line with the notorious reputation acquired by Pakistan’s criminal justice over the years.
In 2022, the 34 police stations of Rawalpindi district registered a total of 38,143 cases. However, complete challans were submitted for only 12,982 cases. The police failed to submit complete challans in 25,161 cases.
As has been the case this year, the senior superintendent of police for investigations failed to initiate any notable inquiry against the investigators over this failure.
Legal morass
Faisal Khan Niazi, the president of the Rawalpindi District Bar Association, said that the police rarely submitted the challan within 14 days. “The period should be increased to 30 days, after which legal action should be taken against the responsible investigator,” he said.
He also pointed out the lack of forensic laboratories that necessitates sending forensic reports and DNA samples to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency in Lahore. Often, delay in the acquisition of such results is cited as a reason for delay in cases, he added. Criminal lawyer Masood Shah concurred with Niazi’s suggestion.
Some of the investigating officers at The Express Tribune spoke to acknowledge the problem. But they insisted that not all investigators were delayed with the intent to ‘collude with the accused’. They cited the delay in DNA reports, forensic tests and chemical analysis as a key factor.
A few officers claimed that the poor rate was because they were busy with raids to arrest workers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf following the incidents of May 9. However, it was pointed out to them that the data was from January to April.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 5th, 2023.
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