Daily Times

Twelve cops were dismissed from duty with immediate effect while 33 police personnel were awarded minor punishment of forfeiture of one year of service after the preliminary inquiry report of the Karak Hindu temple attack found them negligent in discharge of their duty.

“They show cowardice, negligence, and irresponsibility in the discharge of their official obligations,” the inquiry report stated in view of the available record and facts on file, perusal of inquiry papers and the recommendations of the inquiry officers.

It further maintained that the officers failed to protect the Hindu temple which caused disrepute for the police department in the eyes of the general public.

Moreover, the probe has also recommended to the superintendent of police, Frontier Reserve Police (FRP) Kohat regarding minor punishment to the remaining 28 FRP personnel, the report added.

Referring to the report, KP Inspector General Dr Sanaullah Abbasi said that there is no room for negligent elements and slanderers in the police department.

“On the first day we had said that if the police were found to be negligent, they would go home,” the IG added. “The first priority of the police is the protection of life and property of the people in which negligence will not be tolerated.”

On December 30, 2020, a mob, reportedly led by a firebrand cleric Maulvi Sharif, vandalised the temple, which, though no longer functional, is considered a revered pilgrimage site by the Hindu community.

The historic temple had stopped offering religious service after the 1947 partition when all local Hindu families migrated to India. However, four years ago, the unfrequented temple was handed over to the Hindu community on the Supreme Court’s order. And it has been a pilgrimage site for Hindus ever since.

According to reports, local clerics were not happy with the handover of the temple to the Hindu community. The ongoing renovation had reportedly fuelled their anger which set off a chain of events that led to the vandalism.

On January 5, Supreme Court directed the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) chairman to immediately visit the site of the destroyed Hindu temple in southern Karak district of( K-P) and begin its reconstruction.

Expressing displeasure over his performance, the apex court asked the ETPB chairman to submit details of the cases pending against properties belonging to the board as well as details of functional and non-functional temples.