Cops threaten to quit over lawyers' 'highhandedness'
HYDERABAD:
The standoff between lawyers and Hyderabad police which seemed to have died down after announcement of SSP Farrukh Ali Lanjar's transfer resurrected on Wednesday with cops threatening to leave police stations in protest.
Dozens of policemen submitted applications seeking permission to leave their charges for month-long leaves in reaction to announcement of the SSP's removal under pressure of the legal fraternity.
At around 3am on Wednesday a video was shared on social media showing DIG Hyderabad Tariq Razzak Dharejo standing next to Karachi Bar Association's President Amir Nawaz Waraich who announced Lanjar's removal. "The SSP is being transferred and the DIG will visit the district bar on February 6," Waraich said, addressing the protesting lawyers on the premises of the SSP office where the protest continued for around 14 hours.
The DIG said on the occasion that during his visit to the bar he will listen to the lawyers and will also try to address their grievance. The lawyers chanted slogans in the background as Waraich and Dharejo spoke. The development, however, did not go well with the district police officials who felt demoralised at the hands of lawyers.
The quarrel started in reaction to impounding of a car, owned by an advocate, at PS Bhitai Nagar for using fancy number plate and tinted glasses. The legal practitioners asked the police to cancel the FIR and release the Suzuki Mehran car, bearing registration number BQC-508. As the police refused to oblige, the lawyers gathered at the SSP office on Tuesday in large numbers. The gathering soon turned into a protest which lasted past Wednesday midnight.
"In view of the illegal act of the lawyers at the SSP office, I am unable to discharge my duty and I also feel dejected," wrote inspector Munir Abbassi, SHO Market police station, in his application.
"The unnecessary protest by lawyers, use of inappropriate language against police and threats give to the cops have damaged reputation of police among the public," stated Inspector Muhammad Sagheer Fateh, in charge of Anti-Terrorism Force, while seeking leave from work.
Earlier till the morning an impression was created that SSP Lanjar will be forced to quit from Hyderabad under duress of the legal fraternity. But, as the city's police officials put their weight behind the district police chief, the situation changed in the afternoon.
Talking to the media outside SSP's office DIG Dharejo, who was wearing a track suit, explained that following the terrorist attack near Karachi airport, the Sindh police decided to enforce the ban on use of police lights, fancy number plates and tinted glasses in private vehicles. He claimed that the ban is being enforced without discrimination as vehicles of even influential persons and police officers have been booked in FIRs.
He told that Hyderabad police booked a car which was owned by a lawyer in consequence to which the situation pitting the cops against lawyers had developed. He said they are trying to solve the situation.
The DIG, however, took a mild exception to use of objectionable words allegedly by the lawyers against policemen saying the manner did not suit their profession. SSP Lanjar, meanwhile, said more than 50 FIRs have been recently lodged in Hyderabad against such vehicles. He added that many vehicles were owned by government officers and one was owned by a police officer currently posted in Jamshoro district.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
2 hours ago
- Business Recorder
US-Russian talks to take place in Moscow, Russian envoy says
MOSCOW: Talks between the United States and Russia on resolving issues in their bilateral relations will move to Moscow from Istanbul, Russia's new ambassador to Washington told the state TASS news agency. 'The recovery of Russian-American relations is still a long way off,' Ambassador Alexander Darchiev told TASS, adding that the rapprochement with Moscow was being slowed by the so-called US 'deep state' and anti-Russian 'hawks' in Congress. 'I can confirm that the next negotiations of the delegations will take place in the very near future in Moscow,' Darchiev was quoted as saying. The war in Ukraine triggered the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the depths of the Cold War. Ukraine, US to meet in Riyadh after Russia-US Black Sea ceasefire talks Senior diplomats in both Moscow and Washington told Reuters in 2024 that they could not recall relations ever being worse. The administration of US President Donald Trump casts the Ukraine conflict as a proxy war between the United States and Russia, and Trump has repeatedly warned of the risk of it escalating into a world war.
Express Tribune
a day ago
- Express Tribune
Car theft: tracker jammed, vehicle gone
Car lifters stole a vehicle worth millions of rupees from outside a house in DHA Phase VIII and escaped by using a signal jammer on the first night of Eidul Azha. Apparently, the lives and property of Karachi's citizens are safe neither inside their homes nor on the roads. The incident took place around 3am in Khayaban-e-Ghalib, outside the residence of Tariq Hussain. The thieves arrived in a car, pulled up behind the parked vehicle, disabled its tracker with a jammer, and calmly drove away. The entire theft was captured on CCTV and has since gone viral on social media. Despite repeated incidents, the Anti-Vehicle Lifting Cell (AVLC) has failed to prevent the ongoing wave of car and motorcycle thefts across the city. Citizens are left to bear the financial and emotional burden, while police officials continue to express unwarranted satisfaction in internal review meetings - starkly disconnected from the ground reality. Even the patrol team of Sahil Police Station, responsible for the area, failed to deter the culprits during the theft. According to tracker company records, the car's location still shows as the original spot, indicating that the vehicle's actual whereabouts remain unknown due to the jammer. Following the incident, Tariq Hussain filed a complaint at Sahil Police Station. A case was registered and transferred to the AVLC Clifton Division for further investigation. However, as of now, there has been no progress in recovering the stolen car.
Express Tribune
4 days ago
- Express Tribune
Five AVLC cops held for kidnapping
Malir Cantt police raided the Anti-Vehicle Lifting Cell (AVLC) office in Khawaja Ajmer Nagri, rescuing an abductee and arresting five AVLC personnel, including a sub-inspector. Reportedly, the victim, Madad Ali, had gone missing from near his residence in Bilawal Jokhio Goth. After failing to locate him, his family registered a complaint at the police station. Then, acting on intelligence, police raided the AVLC office and recovered Madad Ali, who had been detained on the station's rooftop for three days. The arrested personnel were identified as Constables Abdul Ghaffar, Riyaz, Khalid, Naeem, and Sub-Inspector Rashid Ali. They allegedly demanded a ransom of Rs500,000 from the victim's family for his release. Another individual reportedly involved was also taken into custody. During interrogation, the officers confessed to keeping the victim in illegal detention and attempting to extort ransom money. Further investigations are ongoing.
