The only female Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of the Rawalpindi police has stunned everyone by incorporating contemporary tools in the investigation of criminal cases and the preparation of challans by linking the conventional system with modern technology.
With the help of modern technology, complete challans of 16,000 cases were submitted in the courts in the first 10 months of the current year and departmental punishments were given to more than 300 male investigation officers who were found incompetent in the smart system of investigation and conducted poor investigations.
In an exclusive interview with The Express Tribune, Rawalpindi SSP Investigation Zunaira Azfar said: “The investigation system of Rawalpindi police has been completely digitised, covering all important points of registration of FIR, investigation of cases, recording of evidence and witnesses, preparation of challan and court hearings.”
She said the benefit of digitising the investigation system is that for the first time in the history of Rawalpindi police, complete challans of as many as 16,000 cases have been submitted in the respective courts in the first 10 months of 2023. “Another 3,700 challans are ready which could not be submitted in the courts due to the strikes of various departments,” she said. “In just one year, the investigation of more than 9,000 cases of serious nature including murder, rape and robbery has been completed and the challans have been submitted to the courts,” she added.
The SSP investigation said Rawalpindi police investigated 127 cases of murder, 161 cases of attempted murder, 51 cases of rape, 245 cases of kidnapping, 2,137 cases of robbery and dacoity, 5,316 cases of theft and 1,151 cases of illegal weapons.
Delving into the details, SSP Zunaira said the investigation system of Rawalpindi police has been completely linked with contemporary technology. “All the complaints and cases registered in the 35 police stations of the district have been completely digitised, after which the system of accountability of the investigating officers has become so strict that now only those IOs will be able to stay in the department who can prepare challan after completing investigation of cases on time,” she explained.
Before the launch of this modern system, she said, training was provided to all the IOs of the Rawalpindi Police so that the manpower associated with the investigation system could be fully familiar with the system.
The SSP investigation further said action had been taken against more than 300 IOs involved in conducting faulty investigations and all were awarded departmental punishments. “Regular meetings are held with Head Moharrars and the Station House Officers of the police station who fail to prepare challans for serious cases on time and their performance is evaluated by giving them different targets,” she said.
SSP Zunaira said the innovation in the police investigation system would help to overcome the unnecessary delay in the delivery of justice and the criminal cases would be timely decided.
She added that there was a need to make further improvements in the system for which she enjoyed the complete support of Punjab IGP Dr Muhammad Usman Anwar.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 24th, 2023.
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