Inspector General Police (IGP) Punjab Faisal Shahkar on Thursday said that incidents of torture and escape of accused in police custody were not acceptable under any circumstances. He said that strict departmental and legal action should be taken against the responsible supervisory officers and officials involved in such incidents.
He expressed displeasure over the incident of death of a citizen in Sargodha police custody and directed RPO Sargodha that the officials involved in this unfortunate incident should not only be arrested but should also be given severe punishment. The IG Punjab directed that if incident of death of an accused while in custody would occur in any district in future, then the district police officer would also have to answer.
He directed that a special campaign to eradicate street crime and organized crime should be launched in all major cities of the province including Lahore. He said that operations should be conducted on a daily basis against organized groups involved in robbery, dacoity, kidnapping, murder and other heinous crimes.
The IGP directed to submit progress report to Central Police Office regularly and directed that a strong crackdown should be taken against the gangs involved in the nefarious drug trade and supply chain, especially the anti-social elements who lure the young students to fashionable and dangerous drugs.
In view of the dangers of smog, IG Punjab directed the officers to speed up countermeasures with the district administration to prevent smog in all the districts of the province and take immediate actions against smoke-emitting vehicles, factories, kilns and crop residue. He issued these instructions to all the RPOs, DPOs of the province while presiding over the RPOs Conference at the Central Police Office.
(Pakistan Observer)
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