PESHAWAR, July 12: The police department deducted more than Rs111,000 from the salaries of low-paid officials for the month of June as a punishment “for evading the extra-hours’ duty”, sources told Dawn here on Saturday.

They said the amount was deducted from the salaries of havaldars, constables and head constables.

Even a constable, Gharibullah, who remained on duty the whole month, was asked by the cashier to pay Rs256 as, he was told, he was running into “minus salary”, the sources said.

Mr Tanvir-ul-Haq Sipra had started deputing police officials even to patrol the areas adjacent to the tribal belt ever since he took over as the chief of the Capital City Police, sources maintained.

Besides, they said, he issued directives to deputing policemen in the evening patrol after finishing their morning duties in rotation, despite being aware of the shortage of the personnel in the department.

“We perform duties from 8am to 3pm in the police lines. But the police department again allocates our duties in the far-flung areas from 6pm to 12am. And the next morning we come again to our office, which deprives us of our human responsibilities towards our families,” said one of the officials, resenting the CCP head’s directives.

“There is no extra amount for overtime, which has made the extra work as a punishment for the police force,” he remarked.

One of the police officials registered their attendance in the morning and the same exercise was repeated in the evening before sending them on extra duties, they said.

“There is no excuse for those who do not present themselves again in the evening before the extra duties start. And those who are not present in the evening are marked absent,” they further said.

The cashier had deducted the amount despite performing full-time duties in the morning, they lamented. “We are very poor and deduction from the salaries is unjustified,” another official said.

A low-rank official said when the senior official allocated their duties in the far-flung areas, they were brought in the police van, but after they had finished their duty they were not provided the same facility and had to travel by foot to get the public transport for going to their homes.

He opined that if the police department paid extra amount for overtime, the duties might not be considered as a punishment.

SHOT DEAD: Three persons of the same family were killed and two others injured when their rivals opened fire on a passenger van in Petao Payan village of the Nowshera district on Saturday.

Talib Khan, a resident of Petao Payan village, told Akora Khattak police that he and his other family members were going to their shops in Jehangira on Saturday morning. When they boarded the passengers van, their rivals namely Sahar Gul, son of Behram Khan, and his son Aurangzeb, residents of Petao Payan, Fayyaz Gul and Haya Gul, sons of Ayan Gul, residents of Petao Bala, appeared and opened indiscriminate fire, sources in police told Dawn on telephone.

As a result, Talib Khan, his brother Abdul Qayyum and Amir Ghulam, son of Gul Khan, received multiple bullets and died on the spot, while their cousins Abdul Shakoor, son of Aqal Khan and Daud Khan, son of Hazrat Gul, received injuries. The injured were admitted to the DHQ Nowshera for medical treatment.

Meanwhile, the residents of Petao Payan blocked the main GT Road in Jehangira for several hours to protest the killing of three persons. Later on, the protesters dispersed peacefully after the SP Nowshera held out an assurance that the culprits will be brought to book.

FIRE: An official bungalow of a senior official caught fire after a huge explosion, injuring a cook and damaging two cars at Fata Colony here in Mathra on Saturday.

Police officials said that Director of the Governor’s Secretariat for Fata, Mir Ghulam Wazir, had gone to his village to attend the marriage ceremony of his relative.

Cook Abdur Razzaq was trying to cut off the gas supply after he smelled leakage. But he failed in his efforts. The gas accumulation in the house resulted in an explosion.

The bungalow caught fire soon after, and the cook got injured. He was rushed to the Lady Reading Hospital. The fire damaged the house and two cars.

INSPECTION: District Nazim Humayun Saifullah Khan has said that Rod Kohi schemes launched by the district government to supply water for irrigation would prove beneficial. Only Behram Khel Rod Kohi scheme has helped in providing water for 100,000 acres land.

This he said on Friday while paying inspection visits to several schemes situated at Behram Khel, Adamzai, Landiwah and Tari Khel.