Cops in a fix over how to impose lockdown

As the province-wide lockdown to combat the novel coronavirus was imposed on the midnight at the start of Monday, police officials started patrolling roads and streets of the city to ensure that no one stepped out of their home without a good reason.

As deciding whether or not there is a good reason behind any action is something quite subjective, various cops in various areas dealt with people venturing outdoors differently. Moreover, in the absence of clear instructions from their high-ups, they resorted to various ways to convince the people, especially young men, to stay indoors, which varied from politely asking them to go home to forcing them to do sit-ups or become a ‘murgha’, a corporal punishment used in schools.

Moreover, since the Section 144 does not allow any action against the gathering of people in a number less than four, the police taking action against people found in groups of two or three also raised questions about the legality of such police action.

No disrespect

South Zone Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Sharjeel Kharal on Monday suspended Civil Lines SHO Salahuddin Qazi after a video circulated on social media showed around 10 people being forced into the murgha posture outside the police station as an informal punishment for coming out of their homes in violation of the lockdown imposed by the Sindh government.

As the video met with general criticism for the inhumane treatment of citizens at the hands of the police, the South Zone DIG took notice of it and suspended the SHO concerned.

He also issued directives for the police force under him to treat the people with respect in this time of crisis and stated that there would be zero tolerance for such kind of high-handed behavior by the police.

“We have faced this challenge today (Monday) of [how to] implement the orders with utmost care,” DIG Kharal told The News when asked about what guidelines were issued for the police regarding the implementation of the lockdown.

There was not only one video that showed the police forcing citizens into the murgha posture on roads and streets as various other video clips were circulated on social media showing cops in various areas punishing those came out of their homes, especially young motorcyclists, by forcing them to become murgha in a queue.

Some videos also showed policemen humiliating citizens by beating them with sticks, forcing them to do sit-ups as well as arresting them. In one such video, the Liaquatabad police was seen arresting a young man and forcing him into the police mobile while his mother is shouting at them, telling them not to arrest her son as she had asked him to take her to a grocery store — something which is very much allowed during the lockdown. However, till the end of the video, the police did not release the man and instead asked the woman to go back to home without her son.

In a fix

Police officials found themselves in a fix when they were ordered to implement the lockdown. As a large number of people, especially youngsters, would not comply with the orders without any deterrent, cops felt compelled to use tactics like giving corporal punishment.

Arresting the violators also seemed not a good option as placing multiple people in the lock-ups of police stations would be against the spirit of the lockdown, which was implemented to enforce social distancing.

The Sindh government had announced that people would be allowed to go outside once in two days for necessary tasks such as buying grocery. However, the police have not been equipped with any device that could trace how many times an individual went out during a particular time period.

“What can we do now? We are facing a challenging situation. We have to save ourselves and the citizens. We are doing this for the citizens and their health. We cannot play with them [as we need to be strict],” says a senior police officer who wished not to be named. “We have to stop the citizens from unnecessarily coming out of their homes and the policemen are employing various strategies to do so using their own judgements. Some of them are punishing the violators on roads while some are arresting them.”

The Section 144 bans the gathering of four people or more but in many incidents on Monday, it was observed that the police were punishing the citizens who were either alone or in a company of two.

“The police have the right to arrest the people who are four or more together under the Section 144 but we cannot arrest any individual who is alone. If we arrest any individual like that and produce them before a magistrate, this FIR will be called a ‘jazbati’ FIR, having no legal value and the magistrate will reject such FIRs,” says Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Naeem Khan of the Federal B Industrial Area police station.

“We can fine people and impound their vehicles for the lockdown violations,” he said, adding that the current situation is of a crisis and as the police have to save themselves and the citizens from COVID-19, they cannot even arrest many people and keep them in the lock-ups as this would make the police stations overcrowded, increasing the risk of contracting coronavirus.

The News also tried to contact Sindh Inspector General of Police Mushtaq Mahar and Karachi police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon for their comments but they were not available.