LAHORE: Police began on Wednesday ‘half-hearted’ investigation in connection with a case registered against as many as 16 moharrars, including the recently removed official who served in the Johar Town police station and ‘intentionally’ skipped stocktaking exercise of weapons, bullets, wireless sets, handcuffs, anti-riot gear, metal detectors, explosives and other police belongings.

A case under Section 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent) of the Pakistan Penal Code was registered on the orders of the city operations police chief on Nov 23 who detected mismanagement in record keeping of police property during Register 16 checking.

There were reports that the investigation police failed to arrest any of the nominated suspects.

Johar Town Investigation In-charge Ibrar Yaseen, speaking to Dawn, claimed that last Moharrar Irfan Farooq apparently got booked his 15 predecessors in the first information report without verifying valuables of ‘Mal Khana’ as he even did not know the presence of 75 per cent of missing or used valuables in the same police station.

The investigation in-charge said so far investigation suggested that the incumbent moharrar, who joined the duty around a month ago, was not aware of his duty as he even didn’t bother to contact his predecessors to give updated knowledge about police station valuables.

He said he would obtain statements of all moharrars, but for the time being 75 per cent of missing valuables mentioned in the first information report (FIR) were already lying in the police station and it was not necessary at an early stage to arrest the suspects as their only guilt was that they had not maintained the relevant police station register.

The investigation officer said a couple of things like a motorcycle and some wirelesses, which were supposed to be in the ‘Mal Khana’ of the police station, were in the use of officials of other police stations.

Saddar Superintendent of Police (Investigation) Muhammad Iqbal said his SDPO and the IO were investigating the negligence of moharrars in stocktaking and he would be able to comment after proper investigation.

A police source told Dawn that it had become a routine in most of the police stations that moharras ranking from head-constable to the assistant sub-inspector (ASI) delivered their duties without official entry and skipped stocktaking on transfer.

He said at least 75pc of postings of moharrars, who are usually in-charge of the police station in terms of record supervision and internal management as per Police Rules 1934, were being done without set procedures.

The source further said those 75pc moharrars got posting on ‘favouritism’ while 15pc were repeaters in different police stations. He said senior police officers even did not follow the basic requirement of lower course of head constabulary for moharrar.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (Operations) Dr Haider Ashraf said he ordered internal record examination of all police stations following complaints from divisional SPs that police items from ‘Mal Khana’ were missing and moharrars were not maintaining the record.

He said it was also found during internal inquiry that most of the moharrars at Johar Town police station avoided handing over charge to their successors officially in an attempt to escape accountability as they committed gross violation of not maintaining belongings.

The DIG said there were complaints of missing case property, exchange of official weapons with obsolete arms and use of police property for personal use.

Published in Dawn, November 27th , 2014