Daily Times

KARACHI: The anti-terrorism courts (ATCs) are trying to deliver the best but it has been revealed that there are only 50 investigation officers (IOs) in the Sindh Police, who are posted in ten wings of police department and they could not meet the amount of work, Daily Times has learnt. The revelation came up at a high-powered meeting held in the recent past aimed at reviewing progress of the police department. According to minutes of the meeting, it is informed that the investigation, which is to be undertaken under Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), cannot be assigned to a police officer below the rank of an inspector. No progress has been made with regard to increase in the number of the inspectors who could be assigned investigation, which itself is a ground for delay in submission of challans. The home secretary states that the Sindh government has to take keen interest in raising the number of the police inspectors in the investigation wing, which would lead to avoid delay in submission of challans. The priority in this respect, prima facie is not given. The documents revealed that the competent authority shall immediately take steps to assign investigation to the inspectors by raising number of police inspectors as presently there are approximately 50 investigating inspectors, who are posted in 10 wings of police department and cannot meet the amount of work. According to sources, Anti-Terrorism Court is required to decide a case within a time period of seven days whereas the challans are being submitted with inordinate delay for which neither the ADIG (Legal) who is not directly connected with the process nor the prosecutor general has any plausible explanation. The concerned SSPs of investigation wing shall scrutinise the reasons for non-completion of challans and shall proceed against the officers departmentally unless plausible explanation has been offered by them. “It is further strange to notice that the investigating authority has not been paid a single penny towards the cost of investigation. It is informed that the budget has been allocated to the Sindh Police under the cost of investigation, which has not been disbursed. If the investigation wing is not given cost to undertake this exercise, it is next to impossible for the investigating officers to investigate and submit challan in ATCs in time nor they can conduct honest investigations and without the amount of cost, it is never expected that investigation officer can conduct investigations”.