Several Pindi cops face CPO’s wrath

Sources say 33 officers, personnel dismissed from service over poor performance

RAWALPINDI:

As many as 33 officers and personnel of the Rawalpindi police department have been dismissed from their positions due to poor performance despite repeated warnings.

According to sources, Rawalpindi CPO Syed Khalid Hamdani took action against the officials for poor investigation and follow-up in cases related to drugs and other crimes.

The action comes fresh on the heels of departmental inquiries into the failure to improve performance, despite explicit warnings in two consecutive crime meetings, the sources said.

Emphasising the significance of successful crackdowns on drugs that undermine societal foundations, CPO Rawalpindi Khalid Hamdani asserted that tangible results emerge only when the accused faces ultimate punishment.

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The dismissed officers, comprising nine sub-inspectors, 11 assistant sub-inspectors, one head constable, and 12 constables, were relieved of their duties following a departmental inquiry that uncovered negligence and unprofessional conduct in the investigation of drug cases.

Police officials revealed that the arrested accused could not be adequately punished due to the negligence and unprofessional behaviour of the dismissed officers. CPO Hamdani underscored a zero-tolerance policy for negligence in drug-related cases, emphasising that societal well-being is contingent on eradicating societal norms. “Non-punishment, despite arrests and recoveries, will not be tolerated,” he said.

Khalid Hamdani further stressed the need to hold concerned officers accountable in cases of non-conviction. “In a two-month-long crackdown, Rawalpindi police incarcerated over 1,100 major drug smugglers, seizing substantial quantities of hashish, heroin, ice, and other drugs.

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Last month, Regional Police Officer (RPO) Syed Khurram Ali dismissed three Station House Officers (SHOs) from service for not responding to show-cause notices they were served on charges of conducting erroneous probes into different cases. The three dismissed SHOs were identified as Inspector Syed Hamid Abbas Kazmi (SHO PS Rawat), Sub Inspector (SI) Raja Gultaj Abbasi (SHO PS Cantt) and SI Husnain Shah, who was posted as SHO PS Dhamial.

“RPO Syed Khurram Ali had served four to five show-cause notices to the three SHOs and summoned them in Ardal Room for a hearing but none of them obeyed the orders of RPO and got dismissed from service by him,” said a police spokesman while talking to reporters.

Also, the RPO placed the Personal Staff Officer of City Police Officer Syed Khalid Mehmood Hamdani and transferred him to the Jhelum district.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 26^th, 2023.