Beware: Criminals or harmless citizens?

• Lahore Dolphin Force firing leaves one passerby dead

The actual details surrounding yesterday’s tragic shooting incident in Shadbagh are admittedly still confused, vague and sketchy, as is the norm in such unfortunate cases (or cover-ups)at the preliminary stages, but one thing is for sure, that an innocent youth of 14-16 years, an ill-fated passerby near the scene, lost his life, no doubt leaving his family numb with shock and grief at his sudden unexpected passing, while another person sustained injuries. It seems that the Dolphin Force (DF) personnel signalled a car without registration number plates to stop in a supposedly crime-infested area but on the order being disregarded, the motorcycle riding Dolphin team apparently opened indiscriminate fire, resulting in the pedestrian’s death, and injuries to one of five persons travelling in the offending vehicle.

The incident is still under investigation but if the facts are indeed as stated above, it reveals excessive use of force based on a decision taken in the heat of the moment. It also points to serious flaws in training particularly in imparting standard operating procedure to members of the force in such situations. Dolphin Force, a whimsical brainchild of the Punjab chief minister, and patterned on a Turkish outfit, was intended to counter street crime in Punjab cities. It does not come cheap: the heavy 500 cc bikes reportedly cost Rs.1.5 million each, the black heat-absorbing uniform of parachute cloth, totally unsuited to Lahore summers, Rs50,000, the helmet Rs35,000, initial training in Turkey of 25 master-trainers cost Rs50 million, and the total bill in scarce resources by October 2017 stood at an astronomical Rs3 billion. The DF men in black are more money-and-petrol guzzling white elephants than crime-busters, their performance lackadaisical relative to massive funds invested, their only merit, an eye-catching, but shallow showmanship, so well-beloved of the Punjab CM. Yet another expensive instance of misplaced priorities, these funds would have been better utilised in modernising existing police force, its personnel, equipment, stations and vehicles. Despite being on the roads of Lahore for nearly two and half years, no cost benefit-analysis of the DF has been provided to the general public.