KARACHI, April 25: Five policemen were arrested on Friday night after the inspector general of Sindh police ordered the registration of a case and arrest of the culprits of a house robbery, which took place late Wednesday night in New Karachi.
Sindh police chief Syed Kamal Shah, taking notice of the robbery, ordered the arrest of the robber policemen. He also ordered that they be booked under Police Order 2002, the SHO of New Karachi be suspended and that an inquiry be held into the delay by ‘Madadgar 15’ to respond to the complainant.
The IG issued these orders after more than 30 hours of the incident after the police failed to take action on Thursday.
The IG also ordered CCPO Asad Ashraf Malick to conduct an inquiry into the slackness of the “Madadgar 15” in responding to the distress call made by the small daughter of Bilal at the time of the robbery.
The nine men, including four policemen, with their official weapons intruded the house of Mohammad Bilal in New Karachi late Wednesday night, held the occupants of the house as hostage at gunpoint, broke open the main gate and made off with cash, jewellery and other valuables.
Mohammad Bilal, 62, a bookbinder, told Dawn that at least nine men had scaled the wall of his house in Sector 5-G at Kali Market in New Karachi. However, both the DIG (operation) and the SHO of the police station remained unaware about the robbery till Thursday night.
Since the incident appeared in a section of the press on Friday, the officials of the area police station mounted pressure on Bilal to pardon the policemen involved in the robbery.
“The area Nazim also visited Bilal’s house and advised the family to pardon the policemen, otherwise police might persecute the family in future,” Irfan, Bilal’s son, told Dawn.
The officials had frequently been visiting on Friday the house of Bilal, instead of giving him a referral letter for medico-legal examination as he was not provided any treatment. Bilal had suffered an injury in the head when one of the robbers hit him with the butt of his gun. Bilal has also been denied registration of an FIR of the incident by the area police, he added.
However, an ASP with his police squad visited Bilal’s house late Friday night and took Rizwan and Irfan, sons of Bilal, to the New Karachi police station on the promise that an FIR would be registered there.
Bilal told Dawn that “I have identified six of the suspects in the presence of the ASP”.
However, when this reporter contacted the New Karachi police station a duty officer said that so far no FIR had been registered into the case and an inquiry was being conducted.
The New Karachi town police officer, Ahmed Khan Jamali, told Dawn late Friday night that an inquiry was being conducted at the New Karachi police station into the matter. He said: “Police had some information that Bilal’s sons were involved in criminal activities and the police raided his house.” However, he declined to state as to why the men in civvies were accompanying the policemen during the “raid”.
Mr Malick said late in the night phoned Dawn to say that the SHO had been suspended and the officials involved in the robbery were being arrested. About the police trying to convert the robbery case into a police raid case, he said he was not aware of it.
ASP Ali Mohsin, however, claimed over telephone at midnight: “An FIR 86/2003 was registered at New Karachi police station into Bilal robbery case and five policemen were arrested under section 395 of the PPC and 155, 156 of the Police Order 2002.”
DIG operations said: “We have registered the case and arrested SI Zulfiqar, who headed the police party, ASI Murad, and constables Shakilzai, Zameer Ahmed and another Zameer Ahmed.”
He said the policemen entered the house of Bilal, searched the house, beat up the occupants and allegedly took away jewellery and cash. Responding about the New Karachi town police officer’s claim, he said it was not a way to conduct a police raid.