Their stories may differ but the sense of defeat so painfully common among Pakistan’s dispossessed binds them in their torment. The recent rise in police crime has brought some old ghosts to life. Take Shama and Saima who are still grappling with the horrors of their past. They were gang-raped and brutally injured by police officials who broke into their decrepit home. The two sisters dared to stand tall in the squalor of Ramaswamy and fight for justice but repeated threats from their violators forced them to give up their case and move to another locality.

Another family tread on livewires each time their children leave home. Three years ago, their 14-year-old son Owais was gang-raped by five men -- four police officials and a civilian – when he was returning from work. He came home and set himself on fire. The case was gradually stripped of all evidence, including the medico-legal report and the statement Owais gave before dying. Three of his abusers disappeared and two are out on bail.

A vegetable vendor’s house in Azeempura still chokes with grief. Neighbours kidnapped and raped his daughter Naila. The police found her in Nawabshah. She was kept overnight at the deserted Al-Falah police station where police officials repeatedly raped her. Although prominent human rights lawyers took up the case, the culprits remain on the loose. These cases by no means constitute an exhaustive account but they do paint a picture of terror and not apathy, which is often counted as one of the many flaws of the public.

Cut to the present: on September 27, two police officials were arrested for a robbery. One of the complainants, present at the Ferozabad police station to lodge an FIR, saw one of the suspects ride into the station on the same motorcycle. If this was not enough, the station house officer refused to register the case saying that the suspect had access to the station. He also tried to record an incorrect number of the vehicle.

Meanwhile, there are continuous efforts by the courts to put some nightmares to bed. Recently, non-bailable warrants were issued for eight police officers for failing to comply with the court’s orders and senior police cadres have been directed to ensure their presence on October 10. The officers have not appeared in court as prosecution witnesses to a road accident case, which killed two girls, Beenish and Ravia, from the APWA College and injured many others. Four other police personnel were issued non-bailable arrest warrants for not showing up in a murder case.

Citizen-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) chief Sharfuddin Memon says a majority of police excesses can be blamed on the dearth of checks and documentation. “It is easy to say that there are 30,000 police officials but there is no breakdown of what they are doing, whether they are on leave, on guard duty or any other assignment. If only 12,000 are on duty then the question is where are the others? Since there are no checks, it is likely that many are involved in untoward activities,” says Mr Memon. He explains that his organisation is in the process of devising a computerised Central Reporting Office, which may be an effective way to track and check police activity. “Currently, there is absolutely no documentation and therefore no accountability.” Since September 20, 2007, the CPLC alone has recorded eight complaints of police excesses, including torture and extortion.

Mr Memon, however, says he believes that some good may come from the new Police Order. “The Town Police Officers are responsible for investigations and that is a good thing,” he says. “Previously, the most incompetent police officers were assigned this task. It is a specialised area and interrogation is an integral part of it. The victim and the victim’s family provide most of the information so one has to know human behaviour patterns, psychology and the sensitivity of the case,” says Mr Memon.

Officials say the recruitment process is still incapable of exclude criminal elements. In addition, successive police leaderships have failed to take on politicians who foster criminals. Many officials have long feared that the new Police Order gives unrestrained power to a force almost synonymous with crime without bringing its accountability mechanisms into play. “Crimes have actually increased since it was implemented,” says an officer. He maintains that this system of law enforcement may hardly apply to a country where the police are untrained, illiterate, and above all, poor.

Clearly, payback time is still a distant dream. For now, families such as those of Beenish and Ravia stand a negligible chance of seeing their tormentors brought to book. However, viable political structures and social movements may prove that the spirit of Owais, Shama and Saima is more powerful than all the erased evidence and ruthless politicians who need compliant police officers to facilitate their manoeuvres.

— reema.abbasi@dawn.com