Release of drug dealers, banned gutka: Police officer removed from position for disclosing deal

KARACHI: A police officer has been removed from his position for disclosing a deal regarding the release of drug dealers and huge quantity of banned gutka and mainpuri items in district Jamshoro, The News has learnt.

Sources close to the Jamshoro Police told The News that Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Ghulam Shabir Sarki, posted in district Jamshoro, has been removed from his position and directed to report to the police head-office for making disclosure about the arrest and then release of two drug dealers along with their car full of Gutka, mainpuri and other banned unhygienic items by officials of Police Station Chachar, district Jamshoro.

The deal between the Jamshoro police and drug dealers was arranged by an influential person of the same district.

This happened in the home district of chief minister Sindh, who has ordered strict action against gutka, mainpuri and other related banned and unhygienic items.

According to the official correspondence of police (copies of which are available with The News), on September 24, 2021 at around 2pm, a police party of Police Station Chachar of district Jamshoro, headed by Station House Officer (SHO) Shah Nawaz Malhan along with police officials Abdul Hameed Panhwar, Niaz Lakho and Riaz Ali Tangyani arrested two drug dealers. both of Jakhrani caste. and seized a car from their possession fully loaded with Choori of mainpuri, Ghutka and other items near village Sirai Solangi.

Sources added that later an influential person reached the police station and arranged a deal between the drug dealers and police and then both the drug dealers and their car loaded with mainpuri and gutka was released after getting heavy bribe.

On the same day when the Senior Superintendent of Police, Jamshoro, Javed Baloch, was on his official ex-Pakistan leave and DSP Ghulam Shabir Sarki was assigned the look-after charge of the district police and to deal with the day-to-day affairs by his superiors, DSP Sarki reported the issue to the senior command of the police, including Deputy Inspector General of Police Hyderabad Sharjil Kharal.

DIG Kharal then directed the area DSP Abdul Wahid Khoso to inquire into the matter, who also verified the incident in his written inquiry report without mentioning the name of the influential person who managed the deal. DIG Hyderabad Kharal immediately suspended the involved SHO Shah Nawaz Malhan and his four subordinate police officials.

Jamshoro police sources further added that the action of DIG Kharal irked the said powerful person who had managed the deal between police officials and gutka, mainpuri dealers, who by using his influence on senior police authorities, succeeded in removing Sarki from his position.

These sources concluded that the said influential person is now putting pressure upon police authorities to get back the suspended police officials on their jobs, who were punished for their illegal act. This reporter tried his best to approach Inspector General of Police Mushtaq Mahar, spokesman of the Central Police Office (CPO) Sohail Jokhio for the official version of police but despite calling many times both avoided to respond.

Though there was no official version of the police on this issue, this reporter cross-checked and verified the facts from three different sources of three different departments, including the police department.

It is pertinent to mention here that district Jamshoro, the home district of Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah, is infamous for nexus between police officials and drug traffickers, smuggling of drugs, heroin, Charas, liquor, Indian gutka, maava (the tobacco mixed mild drug) and betel nuts. On July 18, 2021, six police officials of the same Jamshoro Police were arrested in Clifton area of Karachi along with the 76 kilograms of drugs (charas) found in the police mobile van they were travelling in, by the Pakistan Rangers, Sindh.

The case of the incident was registered against two police inspectors, Jamshoro CIA In-charge Nisar Bhatti, Sub-Inspector Sarwar Rahpoto, brother of Sikandar Rahpoto, MNA of Pakistan People’s Party from Jamshoro district, and seven other police officials at Police Station Boat Basin, Karachi.

Sarwar Rahpoto is still at large, all other police officials are in jail and facing legal proceedings and departmental inquiry.