Kidnapping by policemen scares Peshawarites

PESHAWAR: Another gang of policemen involved in kidnapping has been busted and a case has been lodged against the two cops at the Bhanamari Police Station.

Recently, three cops were booked for alleged involvement in kidnapping of a painter from Chamkani in rural Peshawar. Last year policemen were held for kidnapping a government official from Hayatabad in Peshawar and later implicating him in a false case of drug-trafficking.

This has scared the general public since such incidents were brought to zero during the last few years after those found guilty were dismissed from service or awarded strict punishment.

However, these elements in the police force are active once again despite strict action by the bosses.

“One Mohammad Ayub told the Bhanamari police that he was walking outside his home in Bilal Colony when police officials seized him and took him away. The complainant said the cops later demanded ransom from his cousin and eventually released him from the captivity when nobody paid the amount,” a source told The News.

The source added that the complainant also told the senior police officials that the cops snatched his phone and Rs6,500 from him.

Following the incident, a case was registered against an assistant sub-inspector and a constable for the alleged kidnapping and snatching. The two cops are said to have got bail before arrest from a local court.

A number of incidents of snatching and robberies are happening on Kohat Road and on Ring Road in the limits of the Bhanamari Police Station for the last many years but some of the cops instead of going after the gangs are becoming involved in alleged criminal acts to mint money through one or the other way.

“The case has been registered against the two policemen. Besides, we have registered three cases against cops in the last one month, two for kidnapping and one for embezzlement of the seized narcotics,” Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Mohammad Ali Gandapur told The News.

He said that no one in the force involved in any wrongdoing will be spared.

“Those performing well are being duly rewarded. The elements in the force that earn bad name for the police will never be tolerated. We are taking strict action against them,” said the CCPO.

A couple of weeks back, three members of a kidnappers’ gang busted by the cops of the Chamkani Police Station were found to be policemen. They had allegedly kidnapped a painter, belonging to Punjab, from the limits of the Chamkani Police Station on February 24. The kidnapped person was later released after payment of ransom.

“Three policemen and a civilian were arrested and Rs2.5 million were recovered from them in kidnapping case of a painter named Sharif in the limits of the Chamkani Police Station on February 25,” an official said.

Last year, three policemen allegedly kidnapped a government employee from the posh Hayatabad locality, kept him hostage for hours in Khyber district and let him go after placing heroin in his car to implicate him in a false smuggling case.

The police had to take notice of the incident after the department to which the government official belonged took a stand and stressed that he was innocent.

The employee was later acquitted by the court while the policemen involved were arrested and action was taken against them.

Apart from being involved in crime, a large number of police officials also misuse their power by roaming in cars without number plates or with fake numbers and tinted glasses. This gives an impression that the ban is only for the commoners.

A crackdown has been launched against unregistered motorbikes and vehicles with tinted glasses in the provincial capital, but the drive seems to be focusing commoners as a large number of officers of police and other departments are using vehicles with tinted glasses and with fake number plates.

A source said that apart from official cars, a large number of junior and senior officers were using case property and non-custom paid vehicles with fake number plates. Most of these vehicles are equipped with tinted glass.

“The trend increased after threats to police officers and frequent attacks on their cars by militants. A huge majority of the cops then started using vehicles with tinted glasses and fake number plates to avoid being identified and harmed,” the source said.