LAHORE: Five police officials, including an inspector of the Organised Crime Unit (OCU)/Crime Investigation Agency (CIA), have been suspended from service for raiding a hotel, harassing a married couple and lodging a case against them.
The action was taken against CIA Inspector Majid Iqbal and four other policemen as they were not authorised to raid the hotels in the presence of Lahore police’s system, called ‘Hotel Eye’.
The official said Inspector Iqbal and other officials misbehaved with the married couple who had come from Peshawar and were staying in a room of the hotel. Not only that, the policemen took them to a police van and lodged a case against them with Nawan Kot Police Station. The policemen harassed the hotel staff and other guests too by checking the rooms without permission.
The matter came to the limelight when the couple moved to the court, submitted their Nikahnama and sought action against the policemen for harassing them and registering a case against them.
OCU DIG Imran Kishwar held an inquiry into the matter and proposed action against the guilty officials. He said all the police officials had been suspended from the service and departmental proceedings had been initiated against them.
The ‘Hotel Eye’ app of Punjab Police keeps an eye on those having a criminal record. According to a police official, the Hotel Eye app saves data of computerised national identity cards (CNICs) and personal details of hotel visitors. The app was integrated with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), the Police Record Management System (PSRMS) and the Crime Record Office (CRO).
Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2024
