Sheltering dacoits: SHO's arrest, leads to transfer of DIG, SSP

The arrest of Station House Officer of Raunti police station, whose jurisdiction is a hotbed of dacoits, has apparently led to the removal of DIG Sukkur Pir Muhammad Shah and SSP Ghotki Hafeezur Rehman Bugti from their posts.

Sindh Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah and Inspector General of Sindh Police Ghulam Nabi Memon notified transfers of the DIG and the SSP, respectively, late on Sunday.

They have been replaced by DIG Nasir Aftab and SSP Dr Samiullah Soomro. An inquiry committee has also been formed to probe allegations of Shah and Bugti accusing each other for connivance with the notorious elements including dacoits of the riverbed areas, who are involved in killing of cops and kidnapping for ransom. The committee comprised Additional IGP Imran Yaqoob Minhas, DIG Amir Farooqui and DIG Tanveer Alam Odho.

The DIG in a letter to the IGP alluded to collusion of the SSP with bandits from Raunti based Shar community. The SSP in his media talks alleged that Raunti police station SHO Shakoor Lakho has been patronising dacoits for several years. He also believed that the SHO was involved in the attack on the ex-MPA Shaharyar Khan Shar which was allegedly carried out by assailants from the rival Seelro tribe. Bugti went on to blame DIG Shah and DIG Hyderabad Tariq Razzak Dharejo for pressurising him to spare the SHO.

The situation flared up after an armed attack on former MPA Shaharyar Khan Shar, who was elected from PS-18 Ghotki on the ticket of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in 2018. He later left PTI and joined the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Two persons, reportedly accompanying Shar, were killed in the attack. One of them, Umar Shar, carried a head money and was wanted by the police. The ex-MPA, however, has denied that Umar was travelling with him. "Being a politician and elder of my community, how can I take along a man carrying head money?" he questioned in an interview with a television channel.

SSP's argument

Bugti maintains that Umar Shar, who is wanted by the police, was preparing to surrender along with other suspects from his tribe. However, they were attacked and killed by Seelros. He said that on Sunday they raided the village of Seelros in three double-chain and two single-chain Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) but they found houses of the suspects vacant.

According to him, 20 suspects were involved in the attack on the ex-MPA. "Now all things stand exposed. Abdul Shakoor Lakho, a black sheep in the police, is involved. He has been arrested. His call data records (CDR) is being retrieved to confirm his involvement."

He recalled that during the stint of SSP Tanveer Tunio, five police officials were invited to attend a meeting with dacoits but they were later killed. Bugti said a suspect who goes with the name Kaalu was the go-between for that meet-up. "And Lakho has WhatsApp voice notes with Kaalu. He also has contacts with other notorious elements and dacoits. But Lakho is being wrongly portrayed as the crime fighter."

The SSP lamented that he only came to know through the media that the DIG has written a letter to the IGP. "I was neither intimated verbally nor was I given an explanation letter by the DIG." He went on to accuse DIG Hyderabad Dharejo for pressurizing him on conference call with Lakho for the SHO's release.

Bugti urged the IGP to conduct a high-level inquiry, asserting that he will submit all proofs before the inquiry committee.

DIG's letter

Implying towards the SHO's arrest and nomination in the FIR of attack on ex-MPA, the DIG had written that the police officers, especially the rank and file of Ghotki police, are struggling to accept that the same criminals responsible for killing their fellow officers are now being treated favourably by the police. "The fact that the police appear to be yielding to these criminals' demands is sending troubling signals, and the morale of the force is steadily eroding," he underlined.

Meanwhile, the IGP Memon has tasked the three-member inquiry committee with four terms of references. The committee will probe the contents of the DIG's letter and the accusations of SSP Ghotki. It will dig into the response of the DIG and the SSP to the assault on former MPA Shar. It will also have to ascertain the working relationship between Shah and Bugti.