Abuse of privacy by cops feared

Police form teams to audit phone record access

LAHORE:

To ensure transparency in exercise of powers for investigation and protect the privacy of citizens, the Punjab Police has begun an audit of the Call Data Record (CDR) accessed by its officials across the province.

Two teams consisting of five officers each and headed by a DSP have been formed to audit the data accessed by the police, including the Special Branch and Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), since 2021.

The teams have been formed on the orders of the monitoring AIG.

One team will audit the CDR accessed by the capital city police, Sheikhpura, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Sahiwal and the CTD; and the second will cover the regions of Rawalpindi, Bahawalpur, Multan, Sargodha, Dera Ghazi Khan and Special Branch.

The teams will look into whether the CDR had been received following a standard operating procedure (SOP) and used for investigations and tracing the suspects or for any other purpose.

The teams will submit their report to the Punjab investigations additional IG within a month.

An official said allegations of abuse of access gained through information technology by the police had come forth time and again.

They include complaints of accessing data of the citizens for personal aims, selling it or gaining monetary benefit by using it.

In 2018, then additional inspector general of investigation Abu Bakar Khuda Baksh had written a letter to the heads of the Special Branch and CTD, the capital city police officer, and all regional, city and district police officers against the misuse of IT by officials.

He had highlighted that the Police Toolkit, an android application developed for policing, had been misused by the field formations, tarnishing the image of the department.

Sources in the police said the CDR had been sold by some officials for about Rs10,000.

Legal experts assert that the practice violates of Article 14 (right to privacy) of the Constitution of Pakistan.

Advocate Mohsin Chaudhry said the violators must face stern disciplinary action.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 21^st, 2023.