RAWALPINDI, Dec 30: District Nazim Tariq Kiani on Thursday ordered suspension of the station house officer (SHO) and four other personnel of the Airport police station on charges of extortion and implicating an expatriate family in false cases.

The suspended policemen are SHO Chaudhry Munir, Sub-Inspector Saleh Muhammad and constables Azhar, Tariq and Idrees. Union Council Nazim Taj Abbassi had raised the issue with the district nazim asking him to help the family that had come to Pakistan from Denmark in connection with the marriage of their daughter.

According to details, the SHO and his subordinates on finding that a new family had moved into their neighbourhood started demanding Rs200,000 as bribe to let them live peacefully.

On refusal, the SHO and other personnel forced their entry into the house of the family on Wednesday night and implicated them in false cases of possessing drugs and unlicensed weapons.

The SHO claimed recovering 125 gram charas and unlicensed weapons from the possession of the family. The weapons were actually licensed in the name of the parents of the occupants of the house.

On learning about the incident, the entire neighbourhood became agitated and a delegation led by the union council nazim apprised the district nazim of the situation. Mr Kiani brought this matter into the notice of the district police officer and asked him to accompany him to the airport police station.

On hearing details from the policemen and the victims at the police station, the district nazim ordered suspension of the SHO and the other personnel involved in the incident and appointed Assistant Superintendent Police (ASP) Civil Lines as inquiry officer. Statistics show a rise in crime in the area since the appointment of Chaudhry Muneer as SHO.