Watching the watchmen: Encroaching land, threatening citizens, embezzling funds, then fighting crime

Baloch Colony station being built on traffic police land, with its SHO bearing the costs

KARACHI: After encroaching upon a portion of a traffic impound yard located in District South and threatening its occupants, the Baloch Colony Police Station SHO was paying for the construction of a new station out of his own pocket - in violation of several laws.

According to the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority Rules, a tender needs to be awarded for any construction exceeding Rs100,000. However, there is no budgetary provision for the station's construction, nor has a tender been awarded to any construction firm. Instead, the SHO has been asked to build the station out of his own pocket - arranging for the construction material and paying the contractor on his own.

"The previous SHO, Sohail Akhtar, used to buy construction material - including iron, cement and gravel - himself, but he has now been transferred," said a watchman deputed at the station. "The new SHO refuses to do so and construction has been stopped."

According to a sub-inspector at the station, the main reason that the station is being shifted to another location - the Sindh Reserved Police Base II near Kashmir Colony - was the vulnerable nature of its previous location; built over a storm drain off Shaheed Millat Road.

With the transfer of the old SHO, the contractor has stopped construction as he was no longer being paid. "A total estimated cost of Rs10.5 million will be incurred in the building of the police station," added the sub-inspector. "The SHO has been asked to bear that amount right now and he will later be reimbursed by the SSP and the higher authorities."

The Baloch Colony station is no stranger to controversy. It was previously functioning from inside a bungalow in PECHS for 15 years before the police were ordered to evacuate the premises by the court. They then illegally occupied another piece of land and built a police station over a drain near Defence View Phase III before setting their eyes on the impound yard.

Located near Qayyumabad, the station's construction started three months ago on a plot being used by the traffic police for the past 35 years to store unfit vehicles that have been impounded. However, the plot has been encroached upon by the Baloch Colony police.

"A police team arrived one day in December at around midnight and just bulldozed the walls of the impound yard, in the process damaging dozens of impounded vehicles that legally belong to the court," said a traffic constable. "The then Baloch Colony SHO threatened us and told us to vacate the property, saying that a new police station is being built. We tried to approach senior traffic police officials but to no avail."

While South SSP Tariq Dhareejo refused to comment, Traffic AIG Khadim Hussain Bhatti refuted the traffic constable's claims and said the plot had not been encroached upon. However, he did confirm that the construction taking place on it was for a police station. "This is a government plot that was being used by the traffic police," said Bhatti. "Now it has been handed over to the Baloch Colony police. The authorities have promised to give us some other piece of land as a replacement."

However, Bhatti refused to comment on why the SHO is paying for the station's construction or why no tender has been awarded. "You can ask South SSP or the IG as they are the ones who would know the reasons behind that," he said.

While the IG could not be contacted, newly-posted Baloch Colony SHO Muneer Chandio also declined to speak on the subject.