BAHAWALNAGAR: The district police officer (DPO) on Friday suspended an investigating officer from service and launched a departmental investigation after a video clip of him taking a bribe at the McLeod Ganj Police Station went viral on social media.

On the other hand, no action has been taken against a Razakar of the same police station though video clips of him taking a bribe from a citizen are also making rounds on social media.

The video clip shows Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Javed Lubana sitting inside the police station, demanding and receiving the bribe from a citizen. In another video clip, a Razakar, identified as Aqeel, is seen receiving the bribe while standing inside the courtyard of the McLeod Ganj Police Station.

As soon as the video clips went viral, Bahawalnagar DPO Muhammad Esa Khan suspended the ASI from service and initiated a departmental inquiry into the charge against him, a handout issued by DPO office on Friday said. It added the inquiry of the matter had been handed over to SP Investigations Farooq Anwar.

The DPO’s spokesperson Adnan Bhatti, while showing his ignorance of the video clips of the Razakar, told Dawn the entry of the Razakars to police stations had been banned for a long time on the IGP’s order. However, he said nothing when this scribe shared with him the video clips of the Razakar.

It is pertinent to mention a former DSP had removed all seven Razakars of the McLeod Ganj Police Station in 2021 and banned their entry into any police station when a departmental probe found them involved in taking bribe, supplying drugs and other criminal activities. However, the Razakars are still working with all the police stations across the district despite their criminal backgrounds and strict departmental orders, a senior police official, requesting anonymity, told Dawn.

It is worth mentioning that it was the second such incident in a week. On Dec 31, a muharar, Rafique, of the Faqirwali Police Station was suspended from service when a video of him taking bribe had gone viral on social media.

Published in Dawn, january 7th, 2023