FAISALABAD, Aug 5: Station house officers seem reluctant to register criminal cases like robberies, thefts and vehicle lifting apparently in a bid to bring down the crime rate, at least on paper.

Well-placed sources told this correspondent that police had been directed to adopt modern methods of patrolling and investigation to reduce the number of incidents of robberies, thefts, vehicle-lifting, and attacks on persons in public. But the local police have their own way to do the ‘needful’.

Hundreds of people are seen roaming around the offices of superintendents of police of Saddar, headquarters and sub-divisional police officers for securing orders to get their cases registered with their area police stations. At times the complainants return disappointed as policemen simply note down the stereo-type order of “take legal action and report”. The Police Act and the Criminal Procedure Code make it mandatory upon the police high-ups to issue show-cause notices to SHOs found concealing the crime and escaping FIRs. However, inquiries confirmed that not a single SHO had so far been asked to show cause.

Sources said that over 100 incidents of highway robberies, dacoities, vehicle-lifting and clashes occurring during the last one month had not been registered by the local police as complainants were running from pillar to post.

Sources further said that 124 incidents of various nature which were reported through Rescue-15 during the last fortnight by people from different parts of the city had also neither been registered nor entertained properly by the SHOs.

Only cases of murder and those reported in national press were registered at police stations.

A complaint centre set up on the district courts premises by the DPO is receiving scores of applications against SHOs for their failure in registering the cases.