Faisalabad power riots: SSP, SP blamed for mishandling of women, children

Inquiry report says the officers could have handled the matter better.

FAISALABAD:

An inquiry team probing the alleged Khurarianwala police excesses on Tuesday held Senior Superintendent of Police (Operations) Nafees Gohar and Jaranwala SP Nasir Sial responsible for the violence on Thursday.

A police officer, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk on the subject, said that an inquiry team, set up on the directions of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, investigated the claims that some policemen had forcibly entered several houses in search of protesters, where they had beaten up children and misbehaved with women.

The team forwarded its findings to the chief minister on Thursday.

It said that the SSP and the SP had visited the protest scene where a crowd was demonstrating against unscheduled loadshedding. The crowd attacked the Faisalabad Electricity Supply Company’s office on Faisalabad-Sheikhupura Road and damaged public property.

The SSP and the SP had allegedly ordered the policemen to baton charge the mob and to chase and catch those hiding in people’s houses.

The report said had the SSP and the SP not ordered the violent action, the crowd would have been amenable to negotiations.

The report said the SPP and the  Senior Superintendent of Police had had a heated argument with some reporters over making footage showing the policemen entering people’s houses and misbehaving with the women.

The inquiry team has suggested action against the two policemen.

Three policemen suspended

Three Batala Colony police officials were suspended from job on Thursday over their failure to hand over a stolen motorcycle and narcotics recovered a few days ago.

Regional Police Officer Mian Javaid Islam conducted a surprise visit to the Batala Colony police station and discovered that narcotics seized during checking at pickets over the last week had not been registered in the record book. A stolen motorcycle, also recovered last week, had also not been handed over to the senior officials.

The RP then suspended Sub Inspectors Ziaullah and Muhammad Aslam and Assistant Sub Inspector Zulfiqar.

He directed the Lyallpur Town SP to recover all the case material from the suspended police officials in two days.

The RPO also directed other police stations to complete their record of recovery and hand over any recovered material by June 20.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14^th, 2013.