Chiefs of city, traffic police at loggerheads

CTO resumes work at office sealed on CPO orders

RAWALPINDI:

The conflict between the chiefs of police and traffic intensified on Friday, with the Rawalpindi Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Taimoor Khan suspending 23 traffic wardens instead of 60 wardens as ordered by the city police officer (CPO).

The CTO also had operations resumed at the office of the traffic department, which had been sealed on the orders of CPO Khalid Hamdani a day earlier. Meanwhile, representatives of the traffic department were conspicuous in their absence at the ceremony in memory of police martyrs.

Hamdani had ordered the suspension of traffic wardens on Thursday, a day after he along with the regional police officer were reportedly stuck in a traffic bottleneck on the Soan Bridge.

Hours-long gridlocks are routine in Rawalpindi with traffic wardens absent from their posts exacerbating the situation.

After the incident, according to police and traffic insiders, Hamdani ordered the station house officer (SHO) of the Racecourse Police Station to remove personnel – including officers – from the traffic office and to seal the premises.

On the same day, the CPO summoned the officers and the staff of the traffic department to his office. This included CTO Khan.

Sources said they were made to wait for over two and a half hours. Hamdani berated those assembled there in a speech that lasted between 15-20 minutes, said the source. He tossed the microphone at the end of the speech to show his disgust, said another who attended the meeting.

It was during this meeting that the CPO had told CTO to suspend 60 traffic wardens and all traffic in-charges of Civil Lines Circle. He also sought show-cause notices against them.

Meanwhile, the traffic department office remained closed all day Thursday, including the driving license branch. This caused problems to people visiting the office as the closure wasn’t notified or planned.

He also created an advisory committee, comprising three police officers, to supervise the traffic issues of the garrison city.

On Thursday night, the situation escalated further with CTO Khan ordered breaking the locks installed at the main gate of the traffic office and entered the office. He also instructed the staff to resume their duties at the headquarters.

Khan ordered the suspension of 23 wardens and issued show-cause notices to 37 others.

A senior police officer posted in the CPO office, speaking on the condition of anonymity, denied that the two officers had any conflict. CTO Khan has been in the CPO office all day, they said. It warrants mention that the head of the provincial traffic department is the deputy inspector general of Traffic whose office is in Lahore.

The officer said that the two departments were working together on multiple issues including encroachments. The district police and traffic police will continue to work together for the city and the perception that there is conflict among officers is wrong, they asserted.

They added that action had been initiated against the traffic wardens who were not on duty.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 5^th, 2023.