The Rawalpindi police seem to be very hard to convince. Robbery victim Zulfiqar Ahmed Kiani, a banker by profession, can testify to this.
Kiani, in the same vein as dozens of others, has been running from pillar to post for more than a month now to get a first information report registered over a robbery. He says that armed men stormed into his house and looted valuables worth around a million rupees while holding him at gunpoint before making their getaway.
On November 8, 2013 – the morning after the incident – Kiani, a vice president at a private bank, approached the Racecourse Police Station for the registration of a report. However, the only thing he got in response from the Station House Officer (SHO) was “empathy for the loss” and an effort to “out-convince” him that registering an FIR was not necessary. Kiani says the SHO boastfully stated, “Within the course of a few days, the robbers will be arrested anyway”.
Two months after the incident, Kiani has still not been able to lodge an FIR. Unsurprisingly, the robbers have not been arrested either.
“When I noticed that the SHO wasn’t interested in registering my report, I pressed harder for it. He refused each time. Even today, he shies away when he sees me coming,” the victim complained.
During the last six months, the Rawalpindi police have turned to embarrassingly feeble delay tactics in the registration of FIRs. Sources informed The Express Tribune that the police have stopped treating mobile and purse snatching seriously.
The Racecourse police station area in particular has become fertile ground for criminals. During the last month, at least three citizens were killed during separate robberies.
The first day of this year saw hundreds of citizens staging a protest demonstration in Qasim Market Chowk against the sharp increase in robbery incidents and general street crimes in the limits of the station. They alleged SHO Raja Masadaq is patronising gangs of robbers.
Speaking over the phone, the station officer denied the allegations and said not a single FIR saw a delay in registration at his station. He also, tactfully, steered the conversation away from Kiani’s case, before cutting the interview short by saying, “I’m busy and will get back to you after a few minutes.”
However, his few minutes had still not passed when this story was filed.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 12th, 2014.