Police submit challans in 5% cases

RAWALPINDI:

A review of the performance of the Rawalpindi police from July to September this year reveals appalling figures, with the police reportedly submitting challans in courts for only 557 – or less than 5 per cent – of the 11,321 cases registered in the period.

The data for the 34 police stations across the garrison city shows that investigation and prosecution had suffered with authorities focused on ‘political cases’. This means that a large number of suspected criminals were either not convicted or remained on bail.

During the third quarter of 2023, the police failed to submit challans of 10,784 cases before the courts.

The senior superintendent of police responsible for investigations failed to take any action against any investigation officer (IO) over the poor performance. As per the law, a challan has to be submitted within 14 days of the first information report (FIR), with the magistrate having the authority to give the IO a few more days to submit the complete challan.

The cases in which challans weren’t submitted included heinous such as murder, kidnapping, rape and terrorism. As a result, in multiple such cases the accused managed to gets bails. According to available data, the police registered 81 cases of murder, 33 cases of rape, six cases under the Anti-Terrorism Act, and three cases of kidnapping.

During the period, 163 cases of attempted murder were registered while challan was submitted in only six cases. There were 309 kidnapping cases but the police presented only nine challans.

There were 207 cases of traffic accidents but the police presented a challan of only seven cases.

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According to data, only 65 challans were presented out of 1,071 robbery cases. Meanwhile, 104 challans were submitted in around 4,070 theft cases. In cases registered under Section 420, the police presented 16 challans out of 131 fraud cases.

A total of 3,222 cases were clubbed under various crimes with only 248 challans submitted.

There were 505 cases pertaining to firearms, with only 43 complete challans submitted.

The police presented only eight challans for 827 drug cases. There were 29 challans submitted in special cases even though the number was as high as 265.

The appalling numbers were said to be on par with the department’s performance during the two previous quarters.

In the period from January to June, the police registered 36,179 cases. However, challans were submitted in only 5,075 cases. The police failed to complete the investigation and present challans in a whooping 31,122 cases.

IOs have cited the ‘burden of political cases’ as the reason for the high number of cases with challans not submitted. They said that the focus on high-profile cases had resulted in paralysing routine Investigation and prosecution.

They also complained about the lack of facilities to help investigators. One IO complained that they had to buy their own stationery.

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IOs said they had limited to no access to specialized equipment, with even expenses of DNA testing often borne by them.

Those involved in the prosecution have accused the police of often being in cahoots with the accused. One court worker, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that police officers often use delaying tactics in order to force the court to provide relief to the accused.

“The police could also frame charges poorly or not include the relevant sections in the challan. These are all tactics to coerce money out of one or both parties in a criminal case,” they added.

Faisal Khan Niazi, who is the president of a Bar association, called for increasing the time for submission of challan to 40 days instead of 14 days. He also urged to ensure the availability of forensic facilities in every division.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 30^th, 2023.