The very long arm of the law
That a Faisalabad SHO agreed to return the family of a proclaimed offender in exchange for his own wife and daughter who were abducted by the wanted man in revenge paints a disturbing picture of the law and order situation in the Punjab Law Minister’s home district.
A report by a private television channel indicated that the SHO of the Sutiana Police Station raided the house of a person who had been declared a proclaimed offender in several cases and arrested his wife and daughter after having failed to get hold of the criminal. This resulted in a tit-for-tat abduction of the police officer’s wife and daughter by the accomplices of the wanted man. The issue was, however, ‘amicably’ resolved with both sides agreeing on a sort of out-of-court settlement for returning each other’s families.
The incident raises serious questions about the role of our law enforcement agencies exceeding their powers to subject the citizens to high-handedness and pardon the criminals when it comes to the crunch. It is not clear what action has been taken by the police high-ups against the SHO who was prima facie found guilty of committing two unlawful acts.
A bizarre display of this peculiar mindset was witnessed in Sialkot last year where dreaded cops acted as silent spectators during the public lynching of two brothers. Six policemen, including the former DPO Sialkot, were recently awarded three-year imprisonment each by the Anti-Terrorism Court in Gujranwala. But still, there’s little likelihood of the Punjab government succeeding in its effort to change the thana culture until it decides to stop political interference in the postings and transfers of police officials.
Then there is also an issue of corruption being endemic in the police force. The IG Punjab has reportedly recommended immediate replacement of the deputy superintendents and station house officers of questionable integrity after checking the list down to the minutest detail. The CM would do himself a favour by letting the provincial police chief carry out this task with an assurance that it would be free of political interference.