Rawalpindi-An inquiry has been launched by the city police officer against station house officer of police stationWestridges and four civilians for picking up a money changer illegally and receiving extortion from him in police station for his release.
CPO Muhammad AhsanYounis has appointed SSP (Operations) Tariq Walayat as inquiry officer and directed him to grill the accused and the money changer and to submit his report with CPO Office, they said.
According to sources, CPO received source report that four civilians while impersonating officers/officials of sensitive departments have allegedly kidnapped a money changer along with a bag containing money from Saddar and taken him to Police Station (PS) Westridge. The money changer was detained in the police station by the SHO who threatened him of implicating him in bogus cases. In the meanwhile, the money changer had phoned an inspector of Punjab Police MirzaZamanRaza, serving on a key post in Rawalpindi, and sought his help. The police inspector, who was present in RPO Office, rushed to police station to sort out the matter.
The detained money changer was only released after taking Rs 7 million by the SHO and four civilians despite intervention of Inspector MirzaZaman.
CPO has taken notice of the incident and ordered SSP Operations to inquire the matter and to find out the truth.
A police spokesman SI SajjadUl Hassan, when contacted, confirmed that CPO Muhammad AhsanYounas has taken notice of this and directed SSP Operations Tariq Walayat to inquire the matter in question. “Merit is to be ensured ultimately,” he said.
He said SSP Operations summoned SHO PS Westridge SI WaqasSafeer and grilled him. He said the four civilians have also been summoned by the police for recording of their statements.
Talking to The Nation, Zafar Ahmed, the elder brother of victim Gulzar Ahmed, also said his brother was taken to police station and detained illegally by police and some other gangsters. He said his brother was arrested by police near PS Westridge where he went for finalizing a house deal with his business partner Shahid.
SHO PS Westridge SI WaqasSafeer, during an interaction with this correspondent, said a police team was on routine patrol at ChuhurChowk when the cops spotted five men riding in a car. Of them, a man was carrying weapon and police stopped them for checking, he said. He said the car riders could not prove their identity and have been taken to police station. He said later on it was revealed that these were money changers. He said he had brought the matter into notice of ASP and SP Potohar who ordered their release after verification. He said he had not received bribe but Malik Zubair along with three others came to the police station and started making noise that police should not have released the money changers and he (Zubair) would lodge complaint against SHO.