13 cops arrested in 20 days

Sindh police chief Riffat Mukhtar Raja has issued orders to the establishment department of Sindh Police to fire the black sheep and take departmental action against corrupt cops.

Following the directives, the process of removing and suspending 30 police officials has started. These cops include local in-charges of Crime Investigation Agency (CIA), SHOs and other officials.

The DIG Establishment Pir Mohammad Shah, on IG Mukhtar's orders, suspended Inspector Ayaz Khero posted in Shikarpur for patronising criminals.

IG Sindh also suspended the CIA in-charges of the Matiari, Badin and Jamshoro districts of the Hyderabad range. A committee led by DIG Mukadis Haider has been formed to investigate charges against these police officials.

Other officials including Matiari police station SHO Ashfaq Ahmed Mangi, Matiari Intelligence Branch officials Ghulam Ali Brahmani and Ali Gul Khaskheli have been removed from their posts. Moreover, Badin district CIA in-charge and Badin police station SHO Inspector Ayaz Hussain Memon, Jamshoro CIA in-charge Naik Mohammad Khoso have also been suspended. All of these officials were accused of extorting money from businessmen and running smuggling rackets.

Meanwhile, police officials of Jacobbabad, Shikarpur, Sukkur and Kashmore, including Hanif Khoso, Javed Alam Abaro, Mohammad Khoso, Abdul Jabbar Mangi, Ghulam Ahad Mirani, Mazhar Mirani and others face charges of smuggling Iranian petrol and diesel, non-customs paid vehicles and were directed to report at B Company at Garden Headquarters Karachi. Failing to report, these officers will be suspended, the directives issued from the police establishment department said.

'Rogue cops'

Sindh is seeing an ongoing spate of robberies and kidnappings for ransom by police officers and personnel in uniform.

In the past 20 days, 13 police officials have been arrested in West, East, Keamari and, Malir districts of Karachi and Shaheed Benazirabad (Nawabshah) on various criminal charges.

FIRs against these policemen were registered on the intervention of Sindh police chief IG Riffat Mukhtar Raja. Otherwise, the officers of the local police stations had tried their best to save their comrades in uniform.

South district police officer robbed the house of a businessman in West district on the night between November 18 and 19. The Mominabad police station registered the FIR on directives of IG Mukhtar and arrested three officers and officials, including an under training DSP and his gunman.

Meanwhile, two Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) officials, Imran and Saadat, were arrested for kidnapping two citizens for ransom in the Keamari district. Furthermore, two police officers, Rafiq and Younis, have been charged in connection with kidnapping for ransom crimes that occurred in the Steel Town police station in the Malir district. Rafiq is stationed at Garden Headquarters, while Younis is stationed at the Kalakot police station.

Anti-Riot Force South district police constables Shaikh Ghalib and Naveed were arrested in a carjacking case registered at the Tipu Sultan police station.

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