Guard thrashing incident: Inquiry ordered against police official

The SHO was seen thrashing a private security guard by The Express Tribune’s staffers.

ISLAMABAD:

The interior ministry on Saturday took notice of the beating delivered to a security guard at a private bank branch in Aabpara by the area station house officer (SHO) on Friday.

Aabpara police SHO Jamshed Khan, who was in uniform and on-duty at the time, berated 50-year-old guard Riazul Haq before physically assaulting him for not rising from chair in time when Khan asked him to stand on watch near the bank’s ATM machine. The guard was later picked up in a police van and illegally detained by the police, according to eyewitnesses.

The interior ministry took up the issue after this newspaper reported the incident on Saturday. The ministry has ordered Islamabad’s deputy commissioner to submit an inquiry report on the abuse of power within 24 hours.

When contacted by The Express Tribune, Deputy Commissioner Amir Ali Ahmed confirmed that he had received the ministry’s directive and said the inquiry had not been initiated immediately because of Eid holidays. However, he assured that the report will be submitted soon after Eid. “We will conduct a thorough investigation of this incident and if the police officer is found guilty, he will be dealt with according to the law,” Ahmed said.

On the other hand, “The police department will not start a separate inquiry because the interior ministry has already ordered one,” said Bani Amin Khan, inspector general of the Islamabad Police.

The police will, however, follow the findings of the inquiry report and “the doors of my office are open for the security guard who was mistreated,” the IGP said.

“The job of the police force is to facilitate the public, not to hurt them,” he said.

Sources told The Express Tribune that after being picked up on Friday, Haq was taken to the police station and forced to sign a reconciliation agreement under duress to save the SHO’s skin.

Muhammad Mushtaq, a security guard who was working alongside Haq when the incident occurred, said Haq returned to work on Friday some time after being picked up. The SHO had told Haq he was sorry for his mistake, Mushtaq said.

Mushtaq confirmed that Haq had signed a reconciliation agreement at the police station. Haq, himself, was on leave on Monday.

The IGP said the reconciliation agreement is proof that the incident occurred. “Even if the victim signed the agreement, the police officer will be questioned as to why the incident occurred in the first place,” he said.

The Express Tribune had earlier reported that SHO Khan had approached private security guards Haq and Mushtaq outside the private bank branch on Friday. Khan told them to guard the ATM instead of sitting in front of the bank’s entrance so they could prevent ATM looting incidents.

When the guards told him they were unarmed and could not stop an armed robbery if it happened, Khan got enraged and repeatedly slapped Haq on the face.

Khan also threatened The Express Tribune’s reporter Azam Khan, who had approached the officer after witnessing the incident. “We can do whatever we want to anyone we want. It is in our powers,” the SHO said to the reporter.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 30^th, 2012.