749 KP cops dismissed, 5,323 punished in three years

Not a single officer of Grade-18 or above faced penalty for corruption

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police authorities have dismissed 749 cops from service while 5,323 were awarded other punishments during the last almost three years, a source told The News on Wednesday.

“Action has been taken against 6,072 police officers and junior officials since October 2013. Out of these, 749 were either dismissed or compulsorily retired from service while 5,323 were awarded other kind of punishments, including reversion to the previous ranks and grades,” the source added.

Those dismissed from service include 10 officers of the rank of deputy superintendents of police and acting superintendents of police. Eight officers of this rank were awarded other punishments.

“Not a single officer of grade-18 or above was dismissed from service or awarded other major punishment like the junior cops. Though a few of them were removed from their office after complaints, they were given postings in other places within no time,” said the source. He added that none of these officers were ever recommended to the concerned authorities for dismissal, reversion or other punishments.

A number of junior officials have pointed out on various occasions that senior cops cannot be 100 percent clean as that would mean that they never remained involved in any wrongdoings. They added that a junior official stops doing anything wrong as soon as an honest officer is posted to head the range or district.

They argued that justice demands that all those involved in corruption or misuse of power are punished.

The source recounted that those awarded various kinds of punishment included 18 DSPs or acting SPs, 64 inspectors, 414 sub-inspectors, 470 assistant sub-inspectors, 607 head constables and 4,499 constables. Almost 100 percent of the 6,072 cops dismissed or awarded other punishments were recruited as constables or assistant sub-inspectors.

“Apart from the senior ranks, those dismissed included seven inspectors, 44 sub-inspectors, 36 assistant sub-inspectors, 54 head constables and 598 constables. Among those awarded other punishments were 57 inspectors, 370 sub-inspectors, 435 assistant sub-inspectors, 553 head constables and 3,901 constables,” the source added.

Normally an action is initiated with suspension of the cops on the basis of preliminary reports after which a formal inquiry is ordered. The punishment is awarded after completion of the inquiry by senior officers at the Central Police Office and at the respective regions.

A few of them have already been reinstated after they approached the concerned forums against the major punishment and are currently performing their duties in different districts of the province.

According to reports, the action against the corrupt officials in KP Police has resulted in improvement in the situation as the volume of corruption at the police station level has dropped to a great extent. The situation, however, still needs more effective measures to check the corruption of officials at the junior and senior levels.