Not a single senior cop punished in last four years in KP

PESHAWAR: Not a single police officer of grade-18 or above in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is among the more than 6,000 policemen who were awarded major punishment for misuse of power, corruption and links with criminals during the last over four years, a source revealed.

The situation has resulted in unrest among the junior officers and the constabulary as all those dismissed from service or awarded major punishment are in grade-17 and below.

The senior-most among those punished during the last four years included acting superintendents of police (SP) and deputy superintendents of police (DSPs). These officers are in grade-17.

Some of the junior officers were also penalised for lack of supervision but no such action was taken against any grade-18 or above officer despite the fact that their subordinates faced major punishment for alleged criminal activities, corruption and misuse of power.

“All these seniors remained supervisory officers of over 850 policemen dismissed from service or more than 6,000 awarded major punishment on various charges. Besides, they spend millions of rupees every month from the state exchequer without any proper check on their spending and use more facilities than they are entitled to, but none of them was ever made accountable,” a junior officer complained.

A number of junior pointed out that corruption at the junior level came to a halt the day an honest officer was posted to head a region or a district and the ratio increased when an officer having poor administrative skills was transferred there.  

Most of the senior officers are from the Police Service of Pakistan, but a number of others promoted from the lower ranks as well as those recruited as deputy superintendents of police are also part of the senior lot now.  The Central Police Office was requested twice to provide information regarding any major action taken against senior officers in the last four years, but no details were provided.

Officers in grade-18 and above are hardly a few percent of the around 80,000 police force in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but they don’t get a share in the punishment equal to their ratio in the force.

Majority of the senior officers enjoy good reputation as they are educated and interested in making a career.

“But their might be many senior officers who would have done wrongdoings or at least can be probed for lack of supervision if enquiries are held against them the way these are conducted against juniors,” a source said.

An officer argued that a grade-18 or above officer can only be dismissed or suspended by the federal government. However, the police bosses have to recommend a case to the federal government for award of major punishment.

“The cases of two senior officers were sent to the provincial government for major action a few months back, but the issue was hushed up and later no action was taken against them,” a source told The News.

The source added that some of the senior officers were removed from their position after various complaints in the past years but they were soon given better postings unlike the juniors who were sent home and could be reinstated only after they approached the Services Tribunal.

Most of the junior policemen dismissed from services were reinstated after they approached the Service Tribunal or the courts as they were either innocent or their process of dismissal was not properly done.

Chief Minister Pervez Khattak on Thursday lauded improvement in the police force, but once against hinted at continuing action against the corrupt. He even reportedly termed the corrupt policemen as ‘pigs’. The name-calling angered the cops who complained that their sacrifices for restoration of peace in the province were belittled.