CHINIOT: The newly appointed station house officer (SHO) of the Chiniot City Police Station had to pay the price for imposing a curfew in the city on his own in the form of transfer from the area.

Azhar Ali, who was recently posted as the SHO, made public announcements through a megaphone in the busy areas of the city that “no one is allowed to go out of their houses after 12 midnight without any reason” like going to the hospital in an emergency.

A video of such an announcement went viral on social media, showing SHO Azhar Ali making the announcement in a busy roundabout of the city, saying that anybody seen outside their home in the city or in its chowks would be sent to the lock-up immediately as noble people and gentlemen would never come out of houses after midnight.

Not only this, the SHO issued threats of taking the law into his hands, saying if anyone would do any wrongful act in the city, that person would not only be sent to the lock-up but he (SHO) himself would break his legs also.

However, he tried to sugar-coat his threat by offering help of every kind to citizens, asking them to approach him without fear if they faced any issue.

The public announcement by the SHO created panic among the general public, especially youth, who go out of houses at night for dining, meeting their friends or relatives in the city being the district headquarters.

The people were found wondering if there was any justification of the order of the SHO who tried to create a curfew-like situation in the city, threatening the citizens with violence besides being sent to the lock-up without committing a crime.

The video ignited a debate on social media about civil liberties and police action to confine the public to their houses at night in a city.

Talking to the media, SHO Azhar said the video uploaded on social media was out of context as he was warning the criminals and their patrons of strict action as he had done during his previous posting as SHO of the Lalian Police Station in the district.

District Police Officer Chiniot Abdullah Ahmad defended the officer, saying SHO Azhar was a responsible officer. The DPO denied the existence of the questionable announcement made by his subordinate.

However, when this news of announcement by the SHO was telecast on the top electronic media channels, the Punjab inspector general of police transferred him out of the district.

“Inspector Azhar Abbas,SHO Operations Chiniot city is hereby transferred to Gujranwala regional police office with immediate effect,” the notification said.

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2024