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KARACHI: A rickshaw driver suffered serious burns on Saturday after he set himself on fire near the city police office in Saddar in protest against the alleged extortion by traffic police.
Khalid sprinkled oil on his body and set himself alight, saying he was ‘fed up’ with daily challan and alleged ‘extortion’ by the traffic police.
In his statement being shared on social media, Khalid alleged that ASI Mohammed Hanif had been extracting Rs100 from him daily. He gave the policeman Rs50 on Saturday, but the latter insisted on Rs100 and on refusal the ASI handed him a challan.
The rickshaw driver was admitted to the Burns Centre of Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital for treatment.
Sindh IGP Dr Syed Kaleem Imam took notice of the incident. He ordered the DIG traffic to conduct an inquiry into the matter and submit a report to him.
Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2018
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Comments (21) Closed
Oct 21, 2018 09:27am
Extortion by traffic police is common in Karachi.
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Oct 21, 2018 09:55am
Send a report to him and it will take half a month, in the meantime, the matter will be out of media sight and nothing will happen.
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Oct 21, 2018 10:09am
Such is the situation in Karachi, a police ASI in traffic extorting money from poor rickshaw drivers all day long, what message has PTII sent to the Country, gross root indoctrination with iron fist is needed this business of a report from DIG is NOT worth a paper it is written on, we need instant justice, the poor rickshaw driver may mot ever work again. Think about it.
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Oct 21, 2018 10:40am
Dear PM, what course of action is being taken to eradicate the culture of corrupt Police under the Naya Pakistan. Ture, The change can not be and should not be expected within a month or two, but is there any work or plan in sight before any implementation to expect the results within a year?
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Oct 21, 2018 10:41am
DIG Traffic should be sacked for being unable to stop the extortion immediately....
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Oct 21, 2018 11:00am
Not long ago, the teenage son of a rickshaw driver was shot dead in sargodha after refusal to pay bhatta.
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Oct 21, 2018 11:13am
@Janikhel, P.hd
It is Sindh Govt. issue not Federal govt.
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Oct 21, 2018 11:31am
@ZM so for what PTI claims Karachi vote bank...wjere is governor of Sind that belongs to PTI????
Is governor not aware what Traffic police is doing all around kHI???
Gone are the days when u people keep misleading public !!!
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Oct 21, 2018 12:09pm
@Husain . Is it happening in Karachi only?
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Oct 21, 2018 02:04pm
It's not only the ASI, there is honesty among thieves everyone will get a fair share.
This unlikely to change ever unless the Pakistani society charges for the better.
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Oct 21, 2018 02:37pm
@Abdullah ,I agree.
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Oct 21, 2018 02:41pm
@ZM Bhai Karachi majority Karachi voter is with PTI and we expect to correct this.This rewarding of commission of traffic police in making unreasonable and excessive traffic Challans may kill all the poor of this city.They are not removing poverty but finishing poor.No one will do sucide unless he has put to this level due to prolong pressure tactics of the corrupt.
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Oct 21, 2018 02:51pm
I think IG police impose police tax on every vehicle every month to pleased police officers ask public display police tax sticker on their vehicles. It will save public time and all officers will have equal share from constable to IG . This is the only way to stop corruption
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Oct 21, 2018 03:17pm
And PPPs days are now numbered.
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Oct 21, 2018 03:19pm
@Abdullah PTI and PPP are the same. PTI is unwilling to act, PPP doesnt want to change the status quo. Imran is who we all pin our hopes on. I fear for the day he lets us down.
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Oct 21, 2018 04:01pm
New Pakistan.
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Oct 21, 2018 05:56pm
I will never trust a policeman - except very very very ok police. Most of them are worst than criminals and will stoop to any level to extort the vulnerable.
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Oct 21, 2018 08:01pm
This is very dirty and old habit of Pakistani policemen.
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Oct 21, 2018 08:49pm
I asked good few times from taxi drivers in peshawar about any bribes taken by trafic police , not a single man told me that they took bribe from them.
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Oct 22, 2018 02:38am
It was a self immolation incident under similar circumstances that started the riots in Tunisia a few years back and eventually led to the so called Arab Spring. Such scenes are occuring all over Pakistan on weekly basis, yet no one thinks about them twice. This makes one wonder why? May be the Arab rulers had kept their citizens so bottled up that it was a pressure cooker like situation. In Pakistan, people are allowed to vent off, first through media, and now through social media. They are given just enough hope which helps them to ignore such incident. May be the common person has become desensitised and not just the leaders.
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Oct 22, 2018 03:09am
An eye opener for the Naya Pakistan government that people cannot afford any more price hikes. It is unfortunate that corruption is embedded in our culture now. A man trying to commit suicide over 50 rupees shows the mental and financial condition of commoners like us.
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