Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has removed Lahore police chief Umar Sheikh from his post.
Ghulam Mehmood Dogar, who was serving as DIG, Technical Procurement, CPO, Punjab, will be the new Capital City Police Officer (CCPO).
Whereas, the notification issued by the government said that Umar Sheikh will be “posted as Deputy Inspector General of Police/Deputy Commandant of Punjab Constabulary, Farooqabad, against a vacant post”.
Sheikh was posted as the Lahore police chief in September. Since then he has been involved in a number of controversies.
Soon after his posting, he allegedly told his subordinates that on any sensitive issue, the Lahore police must seek his permission even if they receive directions from the Central Police Office (CPO).
This had irked IGP Shoaib Dastgir, who refused to work as the IG till the removal of Sheikh. However, the government removed the IG following a standoff between the two.
“I am shocked… you are a mother of three and the only driver late at night… [she] should have taken the GT [Grand Trunk] Road instead, which is densely populated,” he had said while speaking to Dunya News.
Sheikh went had further said that the woman should “at least have checked her fuel before taking the motorway”.
Reacting to the statement of the CCPO Shaikh in which he said the criminals detained by the police were given bail by the courts, the chief justice had said the suspects are granted bail in line with the constitution.
He had said such statements by CCPO Shaikh were akin to committing contempt of court and asked the Punjab advocate general to give details of his interviews in 15 days.
The chief justice of the Lahore High Court has ordered a review of interviews of Lahore police chief Umer Shaikh over his remarks against the judiciary, wherein he implicitly blamed the courts for an increase in the crime rate.
Reacting to the statement of the CCPO Shaikh in which he said the criminals detained by the police were given bail by the courts, the chief justice said the suspects are granted bail in line with the constitution. He said such statements by CCPO Shaikh were akin to committing contempt of court and asked the Punjab advocate general to give details of his interviews in 15 days.
He said the Lahore police chief boasted that he would curb the crime rate in the provincial capital in three months, but it seems the robberies and streets crimes are on the rise despite his posting.
He further added that the courts will not tolerate unfounded criticism by the police officer and if he has a complaint against the bail granted to the accused, he could approach the relevant forum in this regard.
This is not the first time that Sheikh has made headlines for all the wrong reasons as soon after his posting, he had landed in hot water for victim-blaming after the horrific motorway gang-rape incident. The Lahore CCPO had remarked that the rape survivor should have been more careful and taken a safer route.
In Sept, a trainee sub-inspector Fahad Iftikhar Virk submitted his resignation after he was abused by CCPO Umer Sheikh for speaking in English.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab Shoaib Dastgir was also removed amid much controversy after a standoff with Sheikh after the latter asked his subordinates to ignore the IG’s order.
A policeman was reportedly arrested on Monday after a case was registered against him for allegedly raping a female dancer at a hotel in Lahore on gunpoint.
According to a first information report (FIR) filed at the city’s Garden Town police station, the stage actress has alleged that a constable named Kabir hired her for a dance function and took her to a hotel where she was raped at gunpoint.
Inspector General Police (IGP) Punjab Inam Ghani has taken notice of the incident and directed CCPO Lahore to submit a report in this regard.
The IGP also ordered departmental and legal action.
https://youtu.be/CrLNb129wWg
It is pertinent to mention here that the victim had lodged a similar case against a man named Adil at Changa Manga police station a year ago.
Journalist Adeel Raja on Wednesday claimed that the new chief of Lahore police, Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Umar Sheikh, who has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons since his appointment last month, has been sent home on forced leave.
While The Current’s sources corroborate the journalist’s claim as they say that the Lahore top cop was sent home after Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan expressed displeasure over a viral audio clip in which the CCPO purportedly hurled abuses at a woman, a leave application by Sheikh suggests otherwise.
“It is submitted that I have to look after my ailing daughter admitted to hospital. Please allow me three days [of] casual leave from 21.10.2020 to 23.10.2020,” read the application, a copy of which is available with The Current.
Sheikh further stated that during his leave, Lahore’s Operations Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Muhammad Ashfaq Khan will look after the charge of the post of CCPO in addition to his own duties.
This was also endorsed by Punjab chief minister’s spokesperson in a tweet.
Police officials: “Not true. He is on three days leave to look after his ailing daughter.” https://t.co/BtXaZPGW4X
Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Umar Sheikh once again found himself in trouble when talking to the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights to talk about the motorway gang-rape case on Monday.
There seemed to be discordant information about the authorities’ response time to the victim’s distress call when her car broke down on the M11 Motorway. The CCPO said that it took approximately 28 minutes to reach the area, while the officers who actually responded to the distress call said that they reached the area in under six minutes.
The purpose of the hearing was to discuss the case regarding the horrible gang-rape and mugging of a mother travelling with her children at night on the Lahore-Sialkot motorway. The incident led to country-wide protests and calls for reforms in laws pertaining to sexual assault, specifically with a call for public hangings of the perpetrators.
CCPO Sheikh said during the hearing that the woman was travelling without her husband’s permission, but soon thereafter admitted this was just a “guess”. He was reprimanded by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Krishna Kumari Kohli, a member of the Senate committee, who also told him not to make any such assumptions in the future.
When the committee reprimanded him for giving his “personal opinions” instead of stating facts of the case, Sheikh backtracked and said that “he had been told that the victim had left late at night because she had to talk to her husband on video call”.
The CCPO found himself in even hotter water when he forgot the name of the prime suspect in the case. Abid Ali has been on the run for the past 20 days and the eight special teams — comprising personnel from all of the Punjab Police’s departments — have failed to apprehend despite spotting him at least thrice across the province.
Sheikh said, “If [police helpline] 15 had received the call, we could have reached that place in 25 minutes. The first call to 15 was at 2:47 am made by a passerby and the 15 officials reached at 3:15 am” while addressing the committee.
In reply, Marri said either the CCPO lacked the correct information or the committee had been misled.
“The call came at 2:47 am and the first [Dolphin Force] officer arrived at 2:53 am. I’m telling you the 100% truth,” the CCPO responded.
“Then your cops are lying,” Marri shot back at him.
“My job is to stop the crime and catch the culprits,” Sheikh replied. “Neither is there a CCTV [camera] at the toll plaza nor is an actual toll tax receipt given.”
“Five technologies were used in the motorway rape case; geo-fencing, DNA filing, and fingerprint technology. Even the American police do not respond [to a crime] in six minutes,” he added.
The committee members expressed anger over the contradiction in the police officer’s statement.
“You say the police arrived at the scene in 28 minutes but the police said they had reached in six minutes,” the committee said. “The police tried to misguide the committee”.
The CCPO’s repetitive apologies seemed to further irritate the committee.
https://youtu.be/ClY85ZLGsFU
“The CCPO only apologised out of fear of the court,” PkMAP Senator Usman Kakar said.
Sheikh told the committee that Abid’s data had successfully been found from the Punjab Forensic Science Agency’s (PFSA) 2013 records. “The first case of Daniel Pearl in Pakistan was solved with [the use of] DNA,” he said.
To which, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, the chairperson of the Senate committee, asked why Abid had been released. At this, Lahore’s top cop simply sought forgiveness once more.
“Babar Malhi’s blood and DNA have also matched,” he said.
At which, the committee members paused, in shock, and asked: “Babar Malhi or Abid Malhi? Is the main suspect [named] Abid or Babar? You are investigating this case and you don’t know the name of the main suspect.”
At this point, the shaken officer cited his age as an excuse for his poor memory and continued to seek forgiveness from the committee, repeatedly apologising to all members of the hearing. He even went as far as to say a joint session should be summoned so he can apologise to all lawmakers at once.
He also talked about his desire to bring “court-martial law” into the Punjab police forced, touted himself as someone “who wishes to bring reforms”, and blamed leaks on his 500 people strong police force.
He further tried to shift part of the blame in the insufficient response to the call to the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO).
“In this case, too, an FWO officer was taken on the woman’s conference call. He told her he would send a car,” he said. “That car was on the M2 [motorway] and it took a long time to reach the site.”
“The crux of the matter is that this alert should have been to 15,” he added.
Speaking to The Current, Khokhar separately said that he was shocked over the CCPO’s statements. “His mix-ups have created confusion over the police response time.”
Trainee Sub-Inspector Fahad Iftikhar Virk has submitted his resignation after he was abused by Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Umer Sheikh for speaking in English, The Current learnt on Thursday.
“I can no longer serve this department,” read his resignation, a copy of which is available with The Current.
Sources in police department said that Virk resigned due to an altercation with CCPO Lahore Umar Sheikh.
“Virk used some words of the English language over which the CCPO lost his temper and reportedly abused him. He called him ‘Angrez ki aulaad‘,” they claimed.
Police sources further said that they are demoralised and demotivated after this incident.
Rapist sympathiser @CcpoLahore apparently abused fahad and his family for talking in English. Ccpo who has still not given reason to Lahore High court and IG punjab why he blamed the rape victim carries on with his filth. Shameful. @OfficialDPRPP#WeStandWithFahadpic.twitter.com/yJNQuwy8nO
This is not the first time that Sheikh has made headlines for all the wrong reasons as earlier this month, he had landed in hot water for victim-blaming after the horrific motorway gang-rape incident.
The Lahore CCPO had earlier remarked that the rape survivor should have been more careful and taken a safer route.
“I am shocked… you are a mother of three and the only driver late at night… [she] should have taken the GT [Grand Trunk] Road instead, which is densely populated,” he had said while speaking to a private media outlet.
Sheikh had further said that the woman should “at least have checked her fuel before taking the motorway”.
He had later apologised amid a strong public reaction.
Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Umer Sheikh, who recently made headlines for his controversial statements regarding survivor of the Lahore-Sialkot motorway gang-rape victim, can be arrested if he continues to ignore the summons from the upper house of the parliament.
As per the details, Senate Committee on Human Rights has dismayed over the absence of Lahore top cop who had been directed by the body to appear in person during its Wednesday meeting. Other than not appearing before the human rights body of the upper house, Sheikh did not notify any reason either.
CCPO Lahore has been issued summons to appear on the 28th under powers of a civil court vested in the committees to enforce attendance and production of documents. His non-appearance and stark failure of police to provide public reps with basic info has resulted in this. pic.twitter.com/DIrW03U4hO
Irked over the cop’s absence, the committee chairperson, Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, has said that it is unacceptable.
While the committee has reportedly decided to submit a privilege motion against the CCPO and issued summons to ensure the officer’s presence at its next hearing, Khokhar has also hinted at the possibility of arresting the cop in case of continued absence.
Speaking to senior journalist and analyst Hamid Mir, Khokhar said that the committee “will issue CCPO’s arrest warrants” if needs be.
Standing Committee of Senate on Human Rights summoned CCPO Lahore today in its meeting he never appeared in meeting Chairman of the committee @Mustafa_PPP said “we will issue his arrest warrants” Govt member Ali Nawaz Awan said we will support arrest warrants #RemoveCCPOLahorepic.twitter.com/8vRvzVXMZ0
“Despite public outrage, the CCPO hasn’t had the courtesy to appear before public representatives. If he doesn’t appear, we will have no other option than to issue his warrants,” he said, adding that all committees of the parliament can do so owing to the powers vested in them under the constitution.
Lahore’s new Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Umar Sheikh, who was earlier this week blamed for the removal of Punjab’s fifth inspector general of police (IGP) in two years, has now made headlines for blaming a gang-rape victim for the incident.
“I am shocked… you are a mother of three and the only driver late at night… [she] should have taken the GT [Grand Trunk] Road instead, which is densely populated,” he said while speaking to Dunya News.
Sheikh went on to say that the woman should “at least have checked her fuel before taking the motorway”.
THE INCIDENT:
On Tuesday night, it was reported that two robbers had gang-raped a mother of three on the Motorway within Gujjarpura police’s jurisdiction.
The woman, along with her three children, was driving to Gujranwala in her car when she was forced to stop at the Gujjarpura section of the Motorway after running out of fuel at around 1:30 am. She immediately called a relative and sent him her location. He asked her to also dial the Motorway Police helpline 130 but she was reportedly refused help.
In the meantime, two robbers approached the car, broke the window and took the woman and her children to nearby bushes where they raped her repeatedly in front of the children. They also snatched her purse that had cash around Rs100,000, one bracelet, car registration and three ATM cards.
The Gujjarpura police have registered a case, while motorway police spokesperson said they had not been able to take action as the incident did not occur in the limits of Motorway Police.
PUBLIC REACTION:
With the incident making headlines and medical reports confirming gang-rape, social media flooded with posts by the general public as well as political leaders in support of the survivor and against the authorities over their “continuous failure to protect the people”.
Amid public outcry, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s aide on political communication, Dr Shahbaz Gill, said that on Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar’s directives, Lahore CCPO Umar Sheikh will lead the investigation.
لاہور خاتون زیادتی کیس: CM پنجاب کی ہدائیت پر CCOP لاہور تفتیشی ٹیم کو لیڈ کر رہے ہیں۔
تفتیش میں urban اور rural policing کی تکنیک استعمال کی جارہی ہے-
کھوجی، CCTV فوٹیج اور DNA کی مدد سے تفتیش ہو رہی ہے۔
“Urban and rural policing techniques are being used,” he said, adding that CCTV footage and DNA matching was being used in the probe.”
Dr Gill further said that around 12 suspects have been arrested.
‘POLICE DOING GREAT WORK’:
Earlier, newly-appointed IGP Inam Ghani claimed that police have secured “evidence” that will lead them to the culprits.
“We have done great work so far in the motorway rape case. We have located the village from which the suspects were from,” the IGP revealed in a conversation with Geo News.
He also shared that 20 police teams were working on the case and being overseen by a deputy inspector-general (DIG).
Ghani shared that the survivor had provided ages and other identifying features of the suspects. “Right now, we have a very good clue which will lead us to the suspects directly. However, we cannot share it with the media yet.”
He also shared that police have obtained the complete voter list and record from the National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA) of the area where the suspects are believed to have hailed from.
IG Ghani said that the woman’s children, who were forced to witness the horrific crime, were now with their family, who have been assured that they will be provided all kinds of support. He hoped that the victims of the attack would be in a much better state when the suspects are arrested.
