PESHAWAR, March 16: The inspector general of police has formed a committee to probe into the illegal appointments in the Frontier Reserve Police (FRP).

IGP Saeed Khan has recently sacked 72 officials in the FRP, who were recruited in the department during the last five months, when Hasan Mukhtar was commandant of FRP. Hasan Mukhtar is currently working as inspector general of police in the Northern Areas.

Sources said that 72 low-rank officials were appointed in the FRP during the last five months in violation of rules and regulations.

“Neither the vacant vacancies were advertised nor rules and regulations were followed for the recruitment,” an official source told Dawn here Sunday on condition of anonymity.

The FRP high-ups allotted the official FRP numbers against those people who had either retired from service or left the job owing to some reasons, he said.

When the present commandant of FRP, Mr Jamal Shah, took the charge, he detected the illegal appointments, the sources said. They added that the appointments were made by the former FRP bosses to give unfair advantage to those they liked.

When the former commandant was transferred and posted as IG Northern Areas, several people lodged complaints with the new commandant about the illegal appointments.

Commandant Jamal Shah informed the IGP about this, who issued orders for the termination from service the 72 men recruited.

IGP Saeed Khan also formed a committee headed by Superintendent of Police FRP Mohammad Khurshed, the sources said.

The probe committee would also investigate the alleged irregularities and financial bungling of former and present accountants of FRP Ehsanullah and Aslam, respectively.

Approximately 50 to 52 officials were promoted to various ranks of head constable, assistant sub-inspector, sub-inspector and even inspector, without following the set procedure. All such promotions have been reversed by the IGP.