SARGODHA: As many as 14 station house officers (SHOs) were found guilty of poor investigation and negligence in controlling crime, leading to the forfeiture of six months of their service.

According to a police spokesperson, acting on the directions of District Police Officer (DPO) Sohail Ashraf, SP Investigation Imran Abbas Chadhar initiated departmental action against underperforming officers. As a result, the service of 14 SHOs and additional SHOs in the district was forfeited for six months over weak investigations, failure to curb crime, and not meeting assigned targets.

The officers penalised include additional SHOs of Factory Area, Cantt, Mela, Tirkhanwala and Shah Nikdar, as well as SHOs of Urban Area, Satellite Town, City, Kirana, Bhalwal Saddar, Phularwan, Laksian and Shahpur City.

They were held accountable for failing to take effective action against criminals, not arresting proclaimed and habitual offenders, and falling short of targets set by senior authorities.

On the occasion, SP Investigation Imran Abbas Chadhar said protection of life and property remains the police’s top priority, adding that strict action will continue against negligent officials.

FIRE: A fire broke out in a house near an Imambargah in Bhera, about 40 kilometres away, destroying goods worth over Rs1 million. No casualties were reported.

Reports said the fire erupted in a storage area of a large house owned by a resident, Usman, in the main market of Bhera, allegedly due to faulty electrical wiring. The blaze caused the roof of the room to collapse and reduced valuables to ashes. Rescue teams brought the fire under control, preventing it from spreading further.

According to sources, a fire broke out in the store due to loose electrical wiring in the large house of citizen Usman near the Imambargah in the main market of Bhera town of Sargodha, which caused the roof of the room to collapse and goods worth over a million rupees burnt to ashes.

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2026