ISLAMABAD: Departmental action was initiated against police officers of the Industrial Area zone for their poor performance, negligence and lack of interest in duty which resulted in a sharp increase in crime.

There has been an increase in robberies, especially at I.J. Principal Road, and a policeman was murdered by robbers at I-8 a few days ago.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammad Aamir Zulfiqar Khan ordered action against the subdivisional police officers (SDPOs) and station house officers (SHOs) who served in the area in 2018, the police said on Saturday.

The zone comprises Industrial Area and Shams Colony circles.

The Industrial Area and Sabzi Mandi police stations are located in the limits of the Industrial Area circle while Shams Colony circle comprises the Noon and Shams Colony police stations.

Because of poor performance and negligence of the officers, the area witnessed an increase in crime, police say

Explanations have been sought from the SDPOs who were posted to the area in 2018 for their failure to supervise the police stations and the SHOs. The police said there were also six deputy/assistant superintendents of police.

Likewise, about 10 SHOs were posted to the four police stations during the year but they performed poorly. As a result, departmental action, including inquires, have been ordered against them.

A senior police officer told Dawn that senior officers were equally responsible for the poor performance of their juniors.

“No one (senior officer) keeps an eye on their performance so they (juniors) do nothing to control crime.”

So far, corruption has not been established against any of the SDPOs or SHOs,” the officer said. But they were guilty of inefficiency, lack of interest in their duty, negligence and poor performance.

The IGP presided over a crime meeting at the Central Police Office to discuss crime situation in 2018, said the police. Heinous crime, including murder, attempted murder, robberies and kidnapping, were reviewed by the participants.

The IGP asked the officers to continue crackdowns on land mafia and drug peddlers. Those who perform well will be rewarded and those found inefficient will face departmental action.

The IGP also asked the homicide unit to improve its performance and arrest absconding criminals wanted in heinous crime and fatal traffic accidents.

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2019