LAHORE: The finance wing of the Punjab Police on Thursday presented a comprehensive financial management software to stop corruption/embezzlement in the police accounts.

It was said to be the first-ever software system in any state-run department and it was installed with the help of the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) for monitoring of the police’s Rs119bn annual budget.

The initiative was taken keeping in view the previous mega scams of corruption in police accounts when the district accountants had withdrawn funds worth hundreds of millions of rupees and misused them for personal gains.

Recently, a similar scandal had brought embarrassment for the Punjab police when an inquiry panel of senior police officers proposed a disciplinary action against a senior officer following a mega scam of embezzlement of Rs340m in the accounts of the traffic police department.

Using the new software, the accounts would be made online, giving access to the RPOs/DPOs and the finance wing at the CPO to keep monitoring of the funds withdrawn by the accountants of the districts concerned.

Meanwhile, according to a police handout, Inspector General of Police Punjab Shoaib Dastgir says that police station is a basic unit in police department and officers should play a supervisory role for improving working and prestige of this basic unit so that problems of citizens may be resolved by timely provision of justice.

He lauded the Gujranwala police region for showing overall good performance with respect to inspection of special initiative police stations.

Mr Dastgir said loss of precious human lives in traffic accidents is very harrowing and painful, therefore the ratio of cancellation and confiscation of driving licences involved in heinous and death lethal accidents should be enhanced.

The IG Punjab expressed displeasure for delay in investigation of cases of traffic accidents and directed that challans of under investigation cases of traffic accidents should be completed and sent to courts as early as possible and the DPOs should ensure that there should be no discrepancy in use of section 322 regarding traffic accidents.

The police chief said there should be strict implementation of the National Action Plan in all districts.

The senior police officers, including the regional police officers, district police officers and heads of various police wings also expressed their views.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2020