More than 2,000 cases are pending at various police stations of the district since January 1, 2012, Inspector Aamir Waheed, a district spokesman for the department told The Express Tribune on Tuesday.
He said senior officials were taking action in this regard. He said City Police Officer Bilal Siddique Kamyana issued show-cause notices last week to all investigation officers who had taken more than three weeks to complete their investigations.
He said according to the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), an investigation officer was supposed to complete an investigation within 14 days.
Waheed said that delinquent, corrupt and lethargic investigation officers were the reason behind prosecution delays. He regretted that instead of taking prompt actions themselves, some senior officers blamed their colleagues.
He also regretted that false cases were registered against innocent people.
Muhammad Arshad, a resident of Narwala, told The Express Tribune that his nephew was implicated “in a fake case” by the police on October 18, 2012.
He said five months later the investigation officer had not completed his investigation.
He said every time the court summoned the officer, he sought more time. Arshad’s nephew Muhammad Abdullah is currently in the district jail.
Khalid Javaid, a resident of Jaranwala, said that he had been implicated in a false murder case on January 17, 2012. He said the police had demanded that he bribe them if he wanted them to withdraw the case.
He said he was on bail since January 2012, while his case was being “investigated” by the police.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 21st, 2013.