LAHORE: The Punjab government has referred a case to the Establishment Division to initiate disciplinary proceedings against a superintendent of police (SP) under various charges, including misuse of power and misconduct, endorsed by a high-level inquiry.

The case against SP Hafeezur Rehman Bugti was referred to the ED on the recommendations of the Punjab Inspector General of Police who had ordered the inquiry and in the light of its findings declared that the police officer had brought a bad name to the department. In the same case, the police department dismissed from service four officials and awarded various departmental punishments to eight others, including two Station House Officers (SHOs) of Lahore, Wajihul Hassan and Imran Khan.

All these police officials, including Mr Bugti, were held guilty in lodging a fake case in Lahore against a private company’s chief operating officer, Sajjad Hashim, his relatives, including his brother-in-law, and a friend.

The ‘fake FIR’ against Mr Hashim was lodged by his former wife at the behest of the SP in question wherein she had accused him of hurling threats.

Posted in Karachi, the SP used force of five police stations of Lahore to teach a lesson to his ‘adversary’ through a fake FIR

The punishments were awarded in the light of a regular inquiry carried out by the then Lahore SSP Operations Mustansar Feroze when it appeared that the police officer had used his influence to teach a lesson to the complainant, Sajjad Hashim.

According to the inquiry report, BS-18 police officer Hafeezur Rehman Bugti ‘controlled ’ the Lahore police from Karachi, his current posting station, engaged more than a dozen policemen of five police stations of Punjab capital and got various raids conducted at the residences of Hashim’s relatives to arrest him and others.

The police teams arrested Hashin, his brother-in-law and friend, humiliated and allegedly tortured them, using police force of various police stations of Lahore, the report said.

“It is informed that on the recommendations of the Punjab IGP, the competent authority in the Punjab government has accorded permission to refer the case to the Authority concerned for initiation of disciplinary proceedings under the Civil Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules 2020 against Mr Hafeezur Rehman Bugti,” reads a letter of the Punjab Services & General Administration Department.

Addressed to the Establishment Division Secretary, Islamabad, the letter stated that the draft charge sheet, statement of allegations, list of witnesses and relevant case material including inquiry report has been sent as sufficient evidence to proceed against the police officer.

Charge Sheet:

According to the charge sheet, the SP had directed the police officials of Lahore’s various police stations to arrest of the complainant and his relatives in the FIR registered with South Cantt police station of Lahore.

The police arrested him and others illegally outside their jurisdiction which showed non-professionalism, inefficiency and gross misconduct on the part of the SP.

“Being a senior member of disciplined force, your acts are not only spoiling the image of police in general public but also causing distrust of general public on the police,” reads the IGP letter.

It further stated: “By reasons of the above, you appeared to be guilty of charges of inefficiency and misconduct within the meaning of rules 2 and 3 (a) and 3 (b) of the Civil Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules 2020 which may involve imposition of the penalty of dismissal from service prescribed under rule 4 of the rules ibid”.

Complaint Sajjad Hashim alleged that Hafeezur Rehman Bugti ruined his family and professional life while treating him like a ‘terrorist’.

The police officer turned hostile towards him, misused his connections, and the police force against him and his family members to teach him and his relatives a lesson.

Hashim said the a police team picked him up in April 2022 along with his friend Sohail Zafar from his office in the DHA, thrashed, physically tortured, snatched mobile phones, laptop and then shifted them to the South Cantt police station.

The police also raided the house of his brother-in-law Shaukat Ali Gill in Johar Town, thrashed and also misbehaved his (Sajjad’s sister) and his young nephews.

“Even heinous case criminals are not treated like the police physically tortured me, my relatives and friend in custody”, the complainant said.

He said that the officer was so much influential that he had evaded all the previous inquiries as most of the senior police officers would try to ‘rescue him’ being a member of the Police Service of Pakistan (PSP).

Police sources said inquiry against Bugti and others was carried out on the intervention of a senior official from a powerful institution.

When Dawn contacted Mr Bugti for his comment, he refused to speak on the matter.

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2022