Report sought on action against cops with patchy service records

The Karachi registry of the country’s top court has directed the Sindh chief secretary to submit a report on action taken against all police officials up to the rank of DIG who were awarded major or minor penalties during their departmental proceedings.

The order was issued on Wednesday by a three-member Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Mushir Alam after hearing the matter of police officers’ alleged involvement in criminal activities and those with patchy service records.

The court had earlier directed the CS and the Sindh police chief to file a fresh report stating the nature of patchy records of police officers and personnel as well as the penalties imposed on them by the competent authority during their departmental proceedings.

The bench took exception to the provincial government’s failure to file a report on action taken against gazetted and high-ranking police officers with patchy service records.

The SC observed that the government had not submitted a report mentioning the details of officers above grade-17, against whom proceedings were held after awarding them major or minor penalties by the competent authority.

Sindh Advocate General Zamir Ahmed Ghumro told the court that the CS was on leave due to some personal engagements, and sought more time to file the report, following which the bench directed Ghumro to submit the report by Friday.

The police scrutiny committee informed the SC that as many as 352 police officers and personnel had been recommended for punishment because of their patchy service records.

Submitting the progress report to the court, the three-member body said service records of 109,320 police officers and personnel were received, of which records of 12,361 were scrutinised with the suspicion of being patchy.

The report said 352 officials were recommended for punishment for having patchy records, while 1,182 were cleared for punishment on the same grounds, adding that so far 1,534 were called in for personal hearing and their cases finalised. The report stated that 17 police officials were dismissed from service, 122 were told to retire and 11 had taken voluntarily retirement.

According to police records, non-gazetted officers and personnel have been involved in several heinous crimes, including extortion, fake encounters, land grabbing, receiving bribes from gambling dens and liquor shops, providing assistance to Lyari-based gangsters and political parties, smuggling Iranian petrol and diesel, arranging fake ID cards for illegal immigrants, etc.

On July 6 the SC had ordered screening all police officials up to the rank of DIG who were awarded major or minor penalties during their departmental proceedings and then taking legal action against them.

A three-member bench of the court headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmed had asked the scrutiny committee why no action was taken against gazetted and high-ranking police officers with patchy service records, saying that apparently personnel below the DSP rank were punished but no action was taken against high-ranking officers with patchy service records.

Ghumro had told the bench that high-ranking police officers could be punished in accordance with the civil servants act. The court then directed the scrutiny committee to screen all police officials up to the rank of DIG. The SC said the impression of grouping within the police department should be dispelled and action taken against officials across the board.

The scrutiny body informed the court that as many as 602 police officers and personnel with patchy service records had been recommended for punishment. Filing a progress report in court, the three-member committee said 932 officials with patchy service records were cleared for punishment.

The committee said eight police personnel were dismissed, 84 had been told to retire and one police official had taken voluntary retirement from the service.