Shoddy performance: Sindh IG dissolves district interrogation teams
Arrested policemen reveal details of extrajudicial killings, cops’ involvement in kidnappings.
IG Sindh Ghulam Haider Jamali. PHOTO: SINDH POLICE
KARACHI:
The Sindh IG dissolved on Saturday all the special interrogation teams (SITs) across the province following complaints of their members’ conduct.
“All the SITs across the province have been dissolved with immediate effect,” announced Sindh IG Ghulam Hyder Jamali. “The decision was taken in the wake of persistent complaints over the functioning of SITs.”
The SITs work under the supervision of the district police chiefs of SSP ranks. The teams are usually headed by an inspector but sometimes a sub-inspector or an assistant sub-inspector can head the team of around six policemen. Since the teams are formed on the prerogative of the SSP, only four police chiefs had formed these teams in their districts.
“Each district’s SSP had the power to form an SIT to interrogate or investigate important cases at the district level,” explained a Sindh Police spokesperson, adding that these policemen belong to the police stations of the same district. “It was the SSP’s own initiative and it’s up to him to appoint the incharge.”
Unfortunately, members of these teams were found involved in crimes, which led to their dissolution, added the spokesperson. Nearly six SIT members, particularly those in District East, have been arrested for their involvement in kidnappings, extortion and robberies since last year.
The final nails in the coffin were the arrests of ASI Faisal Jafri of SIT East and other policemen in a kidnapping case, and the involvement of SIT inspectors Malik Adil and Chaudhry Zafar in the custodial death of the MQM worker, Waseem Dehlavi. These officials were accused of demanding bribes from Dehlavi’s family.
ASI Jafri and his team of seven other policemen - including ASI Arif and constables, Imran, Ajmal, Jahangir and Jalal - were arrested on April 4 for allegedly kidnapping a trader, Inamullah, a resident of alFalah. The trader was kidnapped allegedly by the police and his family was asked to pay millions of rupees in ransom as he was kept detained at a police check-post.
Inamullah’s relative, Kashif Murad, approached the Rangers Special Task Force to resolve the issue. When the Rangers’ team traced him to Gulistan-e-Jauhar, they found Inamullah in a police van. The trader was released but a case was registered against these SIT officers involved in the kidnapping. A clause from the anti-terrorism act was also added in the FIR against them.
“SIT officials used to perform ‘school duties’, which means abducting citizens and keeping them detained at isolated places and then releasing them after taking ransom from their families,” revealed ASI Arif during interrogations. “If the family does not pay the ransom money then the SIT officials booked the person in a fake case at any police station.”
Besides Arif, the arrested ASI Jafri also shed light on extrajudicial killings conducted by the police. “Sharae Faisal SHO Khalid Nadeem Baig is master of fake encounters who recently killed a young boy, Abdur Rehman, in a fake encounter,” claimed ASI Jafri. “He should be on trial.” For his part, SHO Baig insisted the encounter was genuine. “Jafri is a good brother of mine but I do not why he telling lies about me,” he said.
Jafri also claimed that he was appointed SIT in-charge by District East SSP Pir Muhammad Shah, who asked him to manage his illegal activities. Shah was, however, unavailable for comments.
The IG has sought complete details of the officials who were leading the SITs. To probe the complaints about these officials, particularly ASI Jafri’s case, the IG has assigned Rapid Response Force DIG Aftab Pathan to conduct an inquiry and submit a report to him in seven days.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 7th, 2015.
The Sindh IG dissolved on Saturday all the special interrogation teams (SITs) across the province following complaints of their members’ conduct.
“All the SITs across the province have been dissolved with immediate effect,” announced Sindh IG Ghulam Hyder Jamali. “The decision was taken in the wake of persistent complaints over the functioning of SITs.”
The SITs work under the supervision of the district police chiefs of SSP ranks. The teams are usually headed by an inspector but sometimes a sub-inspector or an assistant sub-inspector can head the team of around six policemen. Since the teams are formed on the prerogative of the SSP, only four police chiefs had formed these teams in their districts.
“Each district’s SSP had the power to form an SIT to interrogate or investigate important cases at the district level,” explained a Sindh Police spokesperson, adding that these policemen belong to the police stations of the same district. “It was the SSP’s own initiative and it’s up to him to appoint the incharge.”
Unfortunately, members of these teams were found involved in crimes, which led to their dissolution, added the spokesperson. Nearly six SIT members, particularly those in District East, have been arrested for their involvement in kidnappings, extortion and robberies since last year.
The final nails in the coffin were the arrests of ASI Faisal Jafri of SIT East and other policemen in a kidnapping case, and the involvement of SIT inspectors Malik Adil and Chaudhry Zafar in the custodial death of the MQM worker, Waseem Dehlavi. These officials were accused of demanding bribes from Dehlavi’s family.
ASI Jafri and his team of seven other policemen - including ASI Arif and constables, Imran, Ajmal, Jahangir and Jalal - were arrested on April 4 for allegedly kidnapping a trader, Inamullah, a resident of alFalah. The trader was kidnapped allegedly by the police and his family was asked to pay millions of rupees in ransom as he was kept detained at a police check-post.
Inamullah’s relative, Kashif Murad, approached the Rangers Special Task Force to resolve the issue. When the Rangers’ team traced him to Gulistan-e-Jauhar, they found Inamullah in a police van. The trader was released but a case was registered against these SIT officers involved in the kidnapping. A clause from the anti-terrorism act was also added in the FIR against them.
“SIT officials used to perform ‘school duties’, which means abducting citizens and keeping them detained at isolated places and then releasing them after taking ransom from their families,” revealed ASI Arif during interrogations. “If the family does not pay the ransom money then the SIT officials booked the person in a fake case at any police station.”
Besides Arif, the arrested ASI Jafri also shed light on extrajudicial killings conducted by the police. “Sharae Faisal SHO Khalid Nadeem Baig is master of fake encounters who recently killed a young boy, Abdur Rehman, in a fake encounter,” claimed ASI Jafri. “He should be on trial.” For his part, SHO Baig insisted the encounter was genuine. “Jafri is a good brother of mine but I do not why he telling lies about me,” he said.
Jafri also claimed that he was appointed SIT in-charge by District East SSP Pir Muhammad Shah, who asked him to manage his illegal activities. Shah was, however, unavailable for comments.
The IG has sought complete details of the officials who were leading the SITs. To probe the complaints about these officials, particularly ASI Jafri’s case, the IG has assigned Rapid Response Force DIG Aftab Pathan to conduct an inquiry and submit a report to him in seven days.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 7th, 2015.