KARACHI, Oct 13: Instead of vacating the public and private properties where they have built police stations, the police have set up the office of an assistant superintendent of police in Gulshan-i-Iqbal.

The police have encroached upon the private office of a builder, where the construction project was halted owing to certain reasons. The abandoned office was encroached upon by the Gulshan-i-Iqbal police on main University Road opposite Safari Park, and it was converted into the office of the ASP Gulshan-i-Iqbal.

Besides, the police have encroached upon more than 40 buildings and lands of the government and private individuals, and have established police stations and offices.

The Provincial Ombudsman, Justice Haziqul Khairi, had taken suo moto notice of a news item that appeared in Dawn in June, 2000, relating to the setting up of unauthorized police stations in the metropolis.

In January 2001, the Ombudsman had appointed the then Commissioner Karachi as a coordinator to settle the issue by coordinating with the police department and the now defunct KMC and KDA, but the issue has lingered since.

Inquiries conducted by Dawn show that the police had encroached upon at least six amenity plots of the KMC and erected structures on them by utilizing their own funds. These police stations are PIB Colony, Mubina Town, Khokhrapar, City Courts, Azizabad, and Taimuria. The majority of these plots were earmarked for marketplaces.

Two union council offices had also been unlawfully occupied by the police department for Sharafi Goth and Sachal police stations.

Furthermore, the Tipu Sultan police station has been constructed at a public park, depriving the area residents of recreational facility.

According to official data, seven police stations including Korangi Industrial Area, Zaman Town, Shah Latif Town, Peerabad and Sharea Noorjahan have been illegally constructed on the land of the Karachi Development Authority.

Inquiries show that the Korangi Industrial Area (KIA) police station has been established at plot No. ST-11, Sector 6-D. Besides, the police also unlawfully took into possession the area reserved for a road, some commercial plots and residential plots of Mehran Town to set up the KIA police station. The said plot of the KDA was reserved for a public building. The KIA police station is spread over an area measuring 2,500 square yards. The police department had sent an application to the KDA for the regularization of the land for the police station, which had not been entertained.

The police went a step further in erecting the structure of Zaman Town police station by encroaching upon 35 residential plots of 60 square yards each and six commercial plots, thus encroaching upon an area measuring 4,000 square yards in sector 48-B, Korangi No. 1 1/2.

The Nabi Bakhsh police station has been built on the land of the Evacuee Property Trust department of the federal government, and according to the police’s claim, the outstanding dues on the account of rent have been paid.

In addition to this, the police have occupied at least seven privately-owned plots/buildings to convert them into police stations. These police stations established on private property include Al-Falah, Model Colony, Mauripur, Baloch Colony, Eidgah, Surjani Town and Sher Shah.

Also, the Gadap police station has been set up on the building of a veterinary hospital at Murad Memon Goth, and Mominabad police station has been built by encroaching upon the main road.

Inquiries show that the police department has to pay over Rs4 million on account of rent of five police stations to the defunct Karachi Metropolitan Corporation — now the city government. These five police stations occupied by the police on rent after seeking prior permission from the KMC are Pak Colony, Mehmoodabad, Joharabad, Darakshan and Clifton.

The police’s figures stated that out of the total 98 police stations in Karachi, 46 have been established at rented buildings of the KMC, KDA, private lands and others. However, the police failed to show the records of the rent paid by them.

Police records show that 26 police stations are established at government and semi-government buildings, other than the police department. The records do not show whether the police have illegal possession of these buildings, as these buildings are neither rented nor are they the property of the police.

Even after the issue of illegally built police stations was pending, the police have established three more police stations — Boat Basin in Clifton, Nasir Colony in Korangi and Pakistan Bazaar in Orangi Town.