LARKANA, March 6: Shuffling in the police department’s Larkana range in pursuance of a recent Sindh High Court ruling has rendered as many as a dozen police stations of Larkana district alone without station house officers.

Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Larkana range, Abdul Khalique Shaikh has in two phases transferred as many as 52 police inspectors and sub-inspectors from their home districts while acting upon the SHC ruling.

The police stations now functioning without SHOs in Larkana district alone include Market, Civil Lines, Taluka, Mahota, Ratodero, Bakrani, Dokri, Badah, Veehar and Hassan Wahan. There are 28 police stations in the district and the shuffle has rendered 12 of them without SHOs. In some cases, SHOs have been asked to look after the affairs of an additional police station under an ad hoc arrangement, according to sources in the police department.

It is learnt that at a meeting presided over by Larkana range DIG Abdul Khalique Shaikh a week ago, SSPs of the region had proposed transfer of those police officers like SHOs, DSPs etc who remained in a direct contact with the public and not to touch those who worked within their offices or at police lines.

Meanwhile, SSP Javed Soonharo Jiskani has said that the vacant posts of SHOs would be filled soon as newcomers from other districts were undergoing an assessment of their eligibility, performance and potential.