CHAKWAL: When he took charge as district police officer (DPO) Chakwal, Mohammad Haroon Joiya directed all station house officers and investigation officers to arrest proclaimed offenders but the area’s police could not achieve the goal.

Some 50 A-category proclaimed offenders and 156 B-category proclaimed offenders have been at large for the last few years.

In their hunt to arrest criminals, the Chakwal police have lost two of its officers the last five weeks and another shot himself after not being paid his salary for three months.

A police officer was killed during an encounter with a drug peddler near the Aara Village on March 31.

One of the suspects was also killed during the encounter but his accomplice managed to escape and the police have not been able to find him yet.

“The drug peddlers were not trained criminals, they could be arrested if [proper procedure was followed]. But a police official and one of the suspects died because of a hasty operation,” a police official said.

Another officer of the Chakwal police was killed near Islamabad on April 14 during an operation to arrest a proclaimed offender.

“The operation to arrest the proclaimed offender, who was involved in an attempted murder, was also conducted in haste,” another official said.

“Is it wise to conduct a raid on the hideout of a proclaimed offender and that too with just three officers and in the dead of the night,” he asked.

ASI Mohammad Akhtar had gone to arrest the suspect with two constables due to the shortage of personnel.

“Elite force cops were not taken along on both encounters,” the official said.

On Feb 2, police constable Zain Abbas, who was in uniform and was armed with his official Kalashnikov, shot dead 69-year-old Ghulam Shabir in front of the court of the Chakwal additional district and sessions judge. Abbas’ brother was allegedly killed by Shabir’s son a few months ago in the Ransial Village.

Shabir’s son was in jail and was declared guilty by the police but Constable Abbas preferred to take matters into his own hands.

Constable Abbas was booked for terrorism and murder and has not yet been arrested.

Police teams led by SHO Saddar police station Zaraat Baloch and Sub-inspector Baddar Munir, who is in-charge of the Bochal Khan police picket conducted two raids on May 1 to arrest Zain Abbas but could not.

Instead, they arrested his father and another man for helping him flee.

The two raids also raise questions. SI Munir conducted a raid at Abbas’ village Ransial at 4:45 am on May 1 and reported that a person named Tanvir Hussein helped Abbas escape but on the same day at 8pm, SHO Baloch claimed he also conducted a raid to arrest Abbas, who was in Dhab Chowk on Mandra-Chakwal Road which is some 38 kilometres from Ransial, and that his father had helped Abbas escape.

“The police have not arrested Abbas because he is their colleague,” a Ransial local said.

Nov 12 last year, Tauqir Nawaz was shot dead and his younger brother critically injured in the Parhal Village but the police have not been able to solve the murder yet.

When asked, DPO Joiya said all accused persons will be arrested soon.

Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2017