RAWALPINDI: The inquiry team, probing into allegations of sexual harassment against a senior officer of Police College Sihala, has come up with a recommendation to remove the commandant and deputy commandant of the college.

According to the inquiry report, both the officers were not at good terms, creating administrative problems for the college.

But the three-member inquiry team, headed by Additional Inspector General of Police Naseemuz Zaman could not establish the allegations against the senior officer because there was no complaint against him.

A source in police department revealed that some female under trainee police officials were also interviewed by the inquiry team during their one-day stay at the college but all of them termed the allegations against the senior officer baseless.

The source quoted the inquiry officer as saying: “All the allegations leveled against the senior officer were baseless, fabricated and false.”

A source in the police department said the inquiry report, comprising detailed statements of more than 25 officials of the college, including the commandant and deputy commandant, had been submitted to the Inspector General of Police Punjab Mushtaq Ahmed Sukhera.

He said the IGP was likely to decide the fate of the two senior police officers in a couple of days.

Inspector General of Police Punjab Mushtaq Ahmed Sukhera constituted the inquiry team after a former inspector general of Motorway Police, Zulfiqar Ahmed Cheema, on the basis of an anonymous letter he received from a trainee, raised the harassment issue in an article published in an Urdu newspaper.

The inquiry team also recommended an action against the former inspector general of police for writing a ‘fabricated’ story that damaged the police department’s image and demoralised the trainee officials.  

On Tuesday, the female trainee police officials refused boycotted the training session in protest against former inspector general of police.

The protesting trainees, however, called off their protest after the acting commandant Syed Ali Mohsin assured them that the police department will protect their dignity and honour.

When acting commandant Syed Ali Mohsin was contacted, said, “I assured the trainee officials that the department will protect the dignity of the college and its students.”

Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2015

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