LAHORE: The capital city police have launched an android mobile phone application ‘Welfare Eye’ to facilitate the families of the policemen who laid down their lives in the line of duty in getting their benefits.

Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Amin Wains inaugurated the application at his office on Monday. DIG (Operations) Dr Haider Ashraf, DIG (Investigations) Chaudhry Sultan, DIG (Security) Mr Moen, SSP Admin Rana Ayyaz Saleem and families of the martyred policemen were present on the occasion.

The CCPO said there were 281 martyrs of Lahore police and the mobile application was launched to communicate with their families to solve their problems.

He said the application was designed after complaints that the families of the martyred policemen were facing difficulties in getting benefit from different welfare projects announced for them.

SSP Rana Ayyaz Saleem told Dawn that the welfare policy covered three categories of policemen -- those who lost their life in the line of duty, died in service and invalidate (retirement on medical grounds).

He said the families of all the martyred policemen would be registered through the mobile phone application and their profiles continuously updated from finance, welfare and establishment branch. The data was available at the computerised command and control room at the CCPO office.

He said any family registered with the system could send an SMS to the number 0301531515 in case of facing any problem in getting the welfare package.

He said five lady constables were deployed at the central control room to deal with the families of the martyrs and solve their problem.

The SSP said earlier these families had to face a lot of trouble in visiting various offices to get their issues resolved because of complex departmental procedure. Through the Welfare Eye, he said, their problems would be communicated to the authorities concerned in a single click, the SSP claimed.

Amna Hafeez, daughter of a policeman who lost his life in 2001, said the police department was providing scholarships to children of deceased policemen for studying at different educational institutions.

She said their families were also getting pension, besides monthly pay and ‘Guzara Allowance’.

She said the department had also promised a job for one child from each martyr’s family but the promise was yet to be fulfilled.

Widow of a martyred policeman said that her husband was killed by terrorists and the police authorities had given a job in the department to his brother as compensation. She said now she wanted a job for her son and had been visiting the authorities for three years but of no avail.

The SSP said that earlier, under the ‘Shaheed quota’, one job was given to family of each martyred policemen. “In most of the cases, the job was given to a brother of the martyred policeman with the consent of his widow”.

He said now under the revised quota system, the government announced a job for the widow of the martyred policeman and another for his or her son or daughter.

He said some families of the martyred policemen had got one job under the old quota and were now demanding another which was not allowed.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2017