IG orders removal of SHOs having criminal cases, bad record

LAHORE:Punjab IGP Inam Ghani has said that the role of SHOs is crucial in implementing police reforms, changing police station culture and improving the working of police stations.

The IGP said this while chairing a meeting held at Central Police Office here on Monday. He said the deployment of SHOs should be made more transparent and merit based, for which detailed guidelines are being issued to eradicate crime from society and expedite the process of providing service delivery to the citizens and resolving their problems as well as services of competent officers with excellent service record and good reputation may be benefitted. He said in all the districts such officers against whom criminal cases are pending or whose service record is bad should never be posted as SHO and all command officers have been directed to remove SHOs having criminal cases and bad record from their posts and send report to Central Police Office. He said an officer who has not worked in the Investigation Wing or Police Station for two years as an investigator should never be posted as SHO, while it will be necessary for the officer concerned to seek permission from the RPO for removal of any SHO before the period of three months.

He said if any CPO or DPO deviates from these guidelines and appoints SHO, the RPO concerned will be authorised to remove him while the officers concerned will have to be held accountable for deviating from the guidelines issued for the deployment of SHOs.

He emphasised that the purpose of the guidelines was to ensure that the services of competent, honest and reputed officers should be utilised and they should be appointed to the posts of SHOs. Therefore, CCPO Lahore, all RPOs, CPOs and DPOs should ensure the deployment of SHOs under these instructions, he said. During the meeting, Additional IG Establishment Azhar Hameed Khokhar and all RPOs, CPOs and DPOs of the province presented their recommendations and suggestions regarding the appointment of SHOs.

Instructing the officers, the IG said from constable to officer level if there is any criminal case against any official, he should be suspended immediately and he should remain suspended till he is acquitted. He directed the DIG IT to add new monitoring features in the Central Database of Police Human Resources (Human Resource Management Information System) to make the deployment of SHOs more transparent so that they may be benefitted in time of need.