The answers given by the District South SSP and an undertraining DSP to questions asked by inquiry officer DIG Asim Qaimkhani in connection with a recent Orangi Town burglary during in a fake raid have shown that the raid was conducted unprofessionally and in violation of the standard operating procedure followed by the police force in this kind of situations.
A few days ago, DIG Qaimkhani of West Range was nominated as inquiry officer to conduct a probe into the conduct of District South police at midnight between November 18 and 19 in Orangi Town No. 5, District West, where South police entered a house and took away money and jewellery.
Qaimkhani questioned the victim as well as the raiding party officials and their district heads and submitted a detailed report to police high-ups, including the IGP.
According to the recorded statements of the victims, the police party left both the applicant and his brother on the Baloch Colony Bridge near Tipu Sultan Road after the burglary. They sought the help of an ambulance driver from a Chhipa Ambulance Service booth and contacted their third brother, Imran Khan, who came and took them back home.
According to recorded statements and personal hearing of applicant Shakir Khan, the next day they went to their area police station of Peerabad in District West and met SHO Imran Khan. They narrated the incident to him. The SHO told them to go to the Defence police station and get back their cash, gold ornaments, cell phones, and laptops from the SHO of the Defence police station in District South.
In reply to a query if they had any affiliation with the MQM-London, the brothers said they are not members of any political party; they are businessmen and respectable citizens of Orangi Town. They said persons in plain clothes along with a police party searched their family house and took away approximately Rs19,000,000 in cash and 60-70 tolas of gold ornaments.
Shakir and Amir were taken into custody and drive away in a police mobile before they were released near the Baloch Colony bridge. They said they had received Rs10,535,000 in cash and gold ornaments through the Defence police station SHO, and approximately 8.5 million to 9 million locked in an iron box and 30 percent of gold ornaments had not been returned by the police party.
According to the statement of the District South SSP, he received information from a source about two tasks that needed to be assigned. Initially, he intended to assign the tasks to the newly deployed Clifton ASP, but since the ASP was sick, he assigned the task to South DSP Umair Tariq.
The SSP directed the DSP to work out the source information, and later the DSP informed him about completing the recce of the targets on Saturday. Upon receiving this information, the SSP instructed the DSP to proceed with raids.
The SSP further mentioned that he informed the District West SSP and the West Zone DIG about the planned house raid in the Orangi area. In the afternoon of November 19, the SSP asked the DSP about the details of the house raid.
The DSP informed the SSP that two persons were picked up from that house along with the seizure of some important electronic items and a locked box. However, no documents as claimed by the informers were found in the house.
The SSP then questioned the DSP about the release of the two detainees without following proper legal procedures. The DSP explained that since the box was locked, an informant insisted that the laptops must have data about the subject information. When enquired whether the DSP himself participated in any of the raids conducted that night, the DSP said he did not participate in raids and was only supervising both raiding parties.
At this, the District South SSP instructed the DSP to return all the household items, cash and gold back to the family. Further, he asked District West SSP during a CPO meeting held on 19-11-2023 for help with returning the properties to the family.
The South SSP asked the Defence SHO, who formerly remained posted in District West, for assistance and called the DSP to come over the Clifton police station and hand over the seized articles. The DSP brought all that seized stuff in a backpack and a shopper and this was handed over to the Defence SHO, who after a few hours informed the SSP that the belongings had been handed over to the party concerned in the presence of the West police.
In response to the question as to who generated the source of information, one informer said MQM-London-related financial transactions’ documents connected were present in the house. At this, the SSP directed the DSP to plan and conduct a raid based on the information provided by the informer.
Did the DSP get approval for the release of detained persons? The SSP said that no permission was taken from him. They were supposed to collect material evidence from the raided house related to criminal activities, not the valuables (cash and gold). Were all valuables handed back to the complainant? The valuables (money and gold) handed over by the DSP were returned to complainant through the Defence SHO. Was this raid conducted in coordination or pointation of any agency? The inquiry report shows the raid was conducted on a tip-off of an Informer under direction supervision of DSP Umair Tariq. This was not a joint raid with any agency.
What did DSP Umair Tariq say? According to the personal hearing and recorded statement, the DSP said he was assigned by the SSP to meet the informants, which he did in his office. The informants shared information that an activist of a certain political party residing in the Orangi area was involved in managing finances for the party and also managing documentation on its part.
On November 18, 2023, the District South SSP directed the DSP to send an official vehicle to the location in District West with the informants. In compliance with these instructions, the DSP handed over a vehicle to the informants and remained in his office.
During raid, the DSP called his personal staff PC Khurrum to know about the raid position. Khurram replied that the family were resisting an inspection and were not allowing a locked box and trunk to be seized. As per the informers, the documents were inside the box/trunk. The DSP stated that he remained silent as the informers were designated to lead the raid. However, two residents were taken into custody with the trunk and were taken away in official vehicles.
After the raid, the DSP directed the personal police staff to report back to office. On the way back, one informer called the DSP and told him that he had taken the passwords of the laptops; hence, they (both detainees) were no more required.
On the informer’s recommendation, the DSP called the SSP to get permission for this, but the SSP did not attend the call; therefore, the informants as the team leaders were left free to take the decision and they released both the detainees on the Baloch Colony Flyover.
The police party then reached the office with the trunk and the box and a bag filled with mobile phones and laptops. The locks of the trunk and the box were broken in the presence of the DSP in the office, and there were cash and gold ornaments in them. On counting, Rs10,500,000 in cash were found while loose currency and notes with small denomination were not counted. An inventory was also maintained in which details of gold ornaments were mentioned.
To inform the SSP, the DSP messaged him and briefed him about the outcome of the raid and recovered cash and gold, but the SSP did not respond due to late-night hours. Therefore, the DSP decided to keep the recovered cash and gold in his office as safe custody. The next day at around 1400 hours, the DSP managed to contact with the SSP and briefed him the raid. The SSP instructed him that the recoveries of cash and gold are insufficient in terms of evidence for the registration of a crime case.
The DSP stated that the SSP district further instructed him to bring the recoveries to the Clifton police station where the Defence SHO was tasked to hand over the recoveries to their owners. In compliance, he did the same.
Who directed the DSP to conduct the raid? The DSP said SSP Imran Quershi directed him to conduct the raid along with the informers. He said that the team comprised his personal staff, two constables, three Shaheen Force personnel, and a team of five private persons on two motorcycles and in a Mehran car. He was with the raiding team in his personal vehicle.
Did you go inside the house with raiding team? The DSP said he did not go inside but remained in close vicinity. His personal private vehicle (Vigo) and an official mobile vehicle were used in the raid.
Who went inside the house to conduct the search operation? Private persons were leading the search operation inside the house where all his personal staff provided them protection.
Did the DSP find any weapons or evidence material related to their involvement in criminal activities? He said that no weapons and other material related to their involvement in criminal activities were found. The box was opened inside the house by the complainant and they showed to private persons that only cash amounting Rs8,500,000 was in the box.
Why the box was seized? The DSP said that it was taken by private persons. Why were gold, cash, mobiles and other electronic gadgets taken away? He said they were taken by private persons. He added that one private informer was leading the raid inside the house.
Why did the DSP detain the two persons, took them away in a police mobile and release them near the Baloch Colony Bridge? He said the private informer was leading the raid and the private informer decided to detain them and told him to release the detainees. He directed his personal staff in the mobile vehicle to release them on the roadside near the Baloch Colony Bridge.
Were the locked box and bag in the DSP’s custody? He said that the bag and the box with valuables were in his custody in his office room. The box was opened in front of him and cash and jewellery were inside the box. Where is the iron box? He said the lock of the box was broken in front of him in which valuables were found. He directed his private driver to throw away the box. His private driver was also contacted through his cell phone and the driver said that he threw it away on the roadside. Have you returned all valuables to complainant? The DSP said all valuables had been returned to the complainant through the Defence SHO.
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