Cop suspended for ‘drinking, harassing lady’

Departmental inquiry ordered after video of incident went viral

KARACHI:

The Karachi Police on Tuesday suspended a constable from duty who was caught on camera drinking alcohol in public and harassing a woman.

A video of the incident, which went viral on social media, shows constable Abdul Aziz riding a motorcycle in uniform. Evidently drunk, he tries to forcefully offer liquor to a beggar woman standing nearby.

The video shows the woman backing away, after which the police constable drinks from the liquor bottle in his hand. He then hands a cigarette to the woman, which she takes and walks away to the other side.

Taking notice of the video circulating on social media, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) south Asad Raza ordered a departmental inquiry against the constable and suspended him from duty.

The constable was posted at Aram Bagh police station.

Earlier this year, a station house officer (SHO) posted in Khanpur was suspended after he was caught on video manhandling and harassing Hindu shopkeepers for preparing food delivery orders in Ramazan.

SHO Kabil Bhayo had arrested over a dozen people for allegedly violating the Ramazan Ordinance and also physically assaulted him.

It wasn not until the Sindh Human Rights Commission took notice of the incident, footage of which was widely shared on social media, that departmental action was taken against the errant SHO.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26^th, 2023.