LAHORE: The Punjab government has amended the Police Order 2002 and established an Organised Crime Unit (OCU) that replaced the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) with more administrative powers and legal cover.

The unit will handle high-profile cases and other heinous crimes including kidnapping for ransom, extortion, dacoity and robbery with murder.

The OCU has been established as the Punjab governor promulgated the Police Order (Amendment) Ordinance 2023, which has come into force at once. The Punjab law department has issued a gazette notification.

The ordinance has inserted an Article 18B, following 18A, which states: “An Organised Crime Unit shall be established in every district to take action under the Code regarding the cases to be transferred to it under sub-article (3).”

Police Order (Amend) Ord promulgated to form OCUs which will handle high-profile cases

The organised unit, in the capital city district, shall be headed by an officer of the rank of deputy inspector-general (DIG) of Police and in a city district or district by the senior superintendent of police (SSP) and superintendent of police (SP) as the case may be.

Since the police officers posted in the CIA had no powers to independently register FIRs and were dependent on SHOs at police stations, the newly promulgated ordinance has granted powers of an officer in-charge of a police station to all police officers posted in the OCU.

The ordinance has also identified the categories of crimes to be taken by the OCU as: kidnapping for ransom, extortion, dacoity, robbery, dacoity with murder, robbery with murder, theft of motor vehicle, house breaking in order to commit offence, trafficking of narcotic drugs, human trafficking and inter-provincial or inter-district gangs involved in crime against property, and high-profile cases as determined by the district police officer (DPO).

The head of the organised crime unit has been empowered to constitute a special investigation team or cell to work on different categories of cases. The IG Police may, through a standing order, post such a number of officers in the OCU as he deems fit.

Sources in the law department say the superseded CIA officers, infrastructure, logistics and human resources will be transferred to OCU for better functioning of the body.

When contacted, Punjab law department’s Director (Opinion) Naeem Khan said the CIA had been abolished with the gazette notification of the Police Order (Amendment) Ordinance 2023 and the new body OCU was given legal cover in the Police Order law. The CIA was a body created through the rules of the Police Order 2002 and had no legal cover and effective administrative powers. “Since rules are subservient to law, the CIA has been superseded by the OCU,” Mr Khan said.

When contacted CIA Lahore chief DIG retired Capt Liaquat Ali Malik to know about the arrangement and functioning of the newly-created OCU, Mr Malik opted to stay mum.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2023