Grand theft of arms in police custody leaves citizens aghast ROBBERIES and burglaries in Islamabad are no big surprise as they happen every day. But thieves emptying a police station of a veritable arsenal beats the imagination! That unthinkable burglary took place at the Aabpara police station. It was announced on December 21 that thieves had carted away a large quantity of arms and ammunition from the station’s Maal Khana where goods seized by police in investigating crimes are stored -- valuable goods like jewellry, cash, narcotics and alcohol and arms used in crime. However, the thieves found just the arms in the Maal Khan tempting. It seems as if they came with a mission to cart away the sophisticated weapons and ammunition -- heavy and light machine guns, AK-47 assault rifles, grenades, mortars, rocket launchers and anti-tank mines -- stored there. All this deadly stuff was recovered from the Lal Masjid after the July 2007 military operation there. That alone would make the theft ‘Crime of the Year’, a shame for the city police and a rich source for conspiracy theorists. Experts believe it would have taken a team weeks to ferry out the big arsenal from the Maal Khana as no one person could carry the heavy weapons alone, particularly when the Maal Khana is situated in the basement of the police station. Breaking into the Maal Khana however would have posed no problem as its door was secured by a simple, ordinary lock. Since the lock and all the jewellry and valuables were found intact, one would conclude that it was an inside job, or at least with inside help. Police officers on night duty in the days preceding the grand theft are said to have heard noises sometime but used to dismiss them as cats at play. On December 21 morning, however, two Kalashnikovs and a string of bullets found lying on the ground outside the Maal Khana gave away the reality and raised an alarm. ASP Asif Shahzad was immediately informed who brought the incident to the notice of the IGP and the SSP. Shortly after being informed about the theft, the Prime Minister's adviser on Interior ordered the suspension and arrest of the SHO and 14 other police officers of the Aabpara Police Station and got a case registered against them. Senior Superintendent of Police Capt (R) Ahmad Latif and Assistant Superintendent of Police Dr Shahzad Asif, the Sub-divisional Police Officer (SDPO), were transferred from their posts. These actions gave the impression that the government had been jolted by the mysterious theft. But in reality the transfer order of SSP Latif was withdrawn within hours and the SHO was able to obtain bail before he could be arrested. Apparently, the proverbial “influence”, including that of some senior police officers of Islamabad, put brakes on the punitive actions. It is not to say that no one suffered. ASP Shahzad Asif, who enjoyed a good reputation unlike others named in the actions, had to obey the marching orders. No wonder that despite the quota of Police Service of Pakistan officers being raised to 60 per cent in the postings in Islamabad, honest PSP officers dread the so-called “operational posts” in the bastion of power. Majority of the result-achieving officers thrust into the posts are said to seize the first opportunity to be transferred elsewhere. Officers of disrepute however are said to thrive in Islamabad. Some time back the prime minister's advisor on interior had suspended a former SHO of Aabpara police station and a former SDPO Secretariat Circle for negligence. However, both of them reinstated as SHO Barakhu and SDPO Industrial Area later. It is routine with governments to place their blue-eyed boys in sensitive posts and protect them from disciplinary actions. A joint investigation team, comprising police and Federal Investigation Agency officials, and headed by DIG Inayatullah Farooqi, meanwhile is trying to unravel the truth behind the grand theft. Nine police personnel are in the custody of the investigators, while the SHO, the officer responsible for whatever goes on in his police station, is on bail.
ROBBERIES and burglaries in Islamabad are no big surprise as they happen every day. But thieves emptying a police station of a veritable arsenal beats the imagination!
