Who’s to blame?: Police claim Section 144 notification was not issued

Senior police official tells The Express Tribune that the city administration is trying to blame the police.

KARACHI:

As is the case after every tragedy, relevant authorities are pointing fingers at each other over who is responsible for the drowning of the 23 men.

The city administration says that the police are responsible for keeping the people away from the rough sea when Section 144 is imposed, but the police claim that no Section 144 notification was issued.

Karachi commissioner Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, on the other hand, claims that it was imposed for a month on July 28 by the home department.

“When Section 144 is imposed, we patrol the Sea View and an ambulance warns people via a loudspeaker against going into the water,” said Asif Munawar, the former SHO of the Darakhshan police station who left the charge 10 days ago.

A senior official of the police department told The Express Tribune that the city administration is trying to blame the police. “We received a notification regarding Section 144 on Thursday, but it was dated July 28,” he claimed. “People think that we are responsible for everything bad that happens in the city; from killings to overbilling and load shedding.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 1^st, 2014.