Three years on, 36 would-be police constables seek justice

Thirty-six candidates, selected for posts of police constables in Umerkot district in 2008 after clearing written and physical tests for their jobs, have been deliberately ignored and some outsiders appointed on their posts, Pakistan Today learnt on Monday.
Speaking with Pakistan Today, Jaluddin Arisar, a qualified candidate for police constable, said that in 2008, more than 2,784 candidates had appeared for the entry test of constables at Umerkot DPO Office. A total of 163 qualified the recruitment entire process including entry test and viva voce, and were declared eligible for the post of constables.
“Soon after, the merit list vide office number SSC/10375/2008 dated September 27, 2008 was issued along with a letter duly signed by DPO Umerkot for medical fitness, addressed to Medical superintendent district Hospital Umerkot with the subject ‘Recruitment of Constables in Sindh Police’, where all candidates went through the medical fitness process and certificates were issued to them.
“After the passage of some more time, another letter number SSC/4090 dated May 18, 2009 was issued by the DPO office, in which nine candidates were sent for medical fitness.
Terming the recruitments as political, Arisar questioned when 163 candidates had already acquired medical fitness certificates, under what rules were extra 9 candidates sent for it, while qualified candidates including him were waiting on false hopes that soon they will be issued offer letters.
Shah Ali Rind, another victim of the false recruitment process, said he had been waiting for two years now and regularly visited the Umerkot DPO Office.
Later, five other candidates Santosh, Bhugro, Akhtar, Khan Muhammad and Fayaz Ahmed filed a constitutional petition numbered 34/2010. The Sukkur bench observed that “it is also an admitted position that medical fitness certificate is required only when the candidate is found otherwise suitable for recruitment and this issue has already been decided when they were sent for medical fitness.”
Another candidate Ejaz Ali told Pakistan Today that this was a case of suo motu action against police high-ups, who had deprived them of their rights due to which they have suffered mentally and financially also.
The candidates urged the Chief Justice of Pakistana and the honourable judges of the Sindh High Court Hyderabad circuit bench to provide them justice as they cannot afford the expenses of lawyer and visits to courts.