Four officials of the Sindh Police's Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) have been dismissed as they were found to be involved in the short-lived kidnappings in Karachi.
This is not the first such case as CTD officers and personnel have been punished at least twice in the recent past for their involvement in criminal cases.
The orders to dismiss Sub Inspector Rafaqat Ali, ASI Liaqat Ali, ASI Jahanzeb and ASI Muhammad Haris from duty were issued by CTD DIG Asif Aijaz Sheikh. Four officers were assigned to the ATFU/Investigation CTD.
Their involvement in criminal activities was noted when a police mobile van illegally detained a citizen Jasim Ali along with his three friends Umer Farooq, Imran and Usama in the jurisdiction of Tipu Sultan Police Station.
Later, Ali was released on payment of Rs 400,000 as illegal gratification. FIR No. 119/24 under Sections 342, 384, 385, 386, 109, 506, 504 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) was registered against four CTD officials at Tipu Sultan Police Station on April 6. By your crime, you have brought the department into disrepute, which shows that you are corrupt and criminally minded police officers, and your continued stay with the police department will reflect the worst impression on the general public,” the dismissal order said.
The investigation report stated that these officers raided and picked up the complainant and his friends and detained them at the CTD Garden office.
CCTV footage also corroborated the narrative of complainant Ali, whose friends were released shortly after being detained. Ali was released after the kidnappers collected Rs 400,000 as illegal gratification.
The investigating officer has recommended heavy punishment to four police officers as they were found involved in the heinous kidnapping that brought CTD into disrepute.
The report stated that the police officers also failed to submit written responses within the stipulated time, which proved that they had nothing to say in their defence. They were then issued with a final show cause notice but again failed to respond. This is not the first time that officers from specialized police units have been caught committing crimes such as kidnapping for ransom and extortion.
In the incident that occurred on January 13, a CTD inspector was forced to retire and four other policemen were dismissed from service for ransacking a retired policeman's house in Saeedabad area.
Also in January this year, CTD officers Muhammad Fahim and Muhammad Ahmed were found involved in short-term kidnappings and dismissed from duty.
Later on March 12, the then Inspector General (IG) of Police Riffat Mukhtar Raja initiated an investigation against CTD Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Syed Fida Hussain Shah following allegations of illegal arrest, torture and detention of the businessman. The report of the inquiry has not been made public and no action has yet been taken. All these incidents happened during CTD DIG Shaikh's tenure. He was unavailable for comment when contacted.
