LAHORE: Punjab’s police department is working on a feasibility study to establish a separate branch to deal with ‘organised crimes’ to further improve investigations and follow-ups in such cases across the province.
As per the plan, the deputy inspector general (organised crimes) shall be appointed as head of the new wing in the AIG Investigations Office and a summary in this regard would be moved for the approval of the provincial government soon.
The DIG for organised crimes will not only collect data through effective follow-ups but will also submit weekly reports about the progress of investigations on serious cases in all districts of Punjab. Presiding over a meeting here on Wednesday, Punjab IGP Aamir Zulfiqar Khan said the organized crime branch will ensure close follow-ups of registered cases across the province and will focus on arresting dangerous criminals through effective investigation, timely completion of challan and strict punishment to habitual and professional criminals.
He said the DIG organized crimes will maintain a close coordination with the Regional Monitoring Units of Investigations and after registration of a case; he will monitor all the stages of investigations and bring the case to its logical conclusion as soon as possible with effective follow-up.
According to Aamir, the prime objective of establishing a separate branch of the organized crimes is to improve the quality of investigation with effective follow-up and in this regard, all possible measures will be taken along with provision of additional resources.
Initially, the AIG monitoring will submit fortnightly monitoring reports of organized crime cases including murder, robbery, dacoity and rape, he said, directing that “hardcore policing” should be continued across Punjab to curb crimes besides nabbing the habitual criminals.
The IG Punjab further said that data on rate of conviction and acquittal in cases of robbery, theft and dacoity should be collected from across Punjab to know about the average rate of bails in these cases and there reports should be prepared in 10 days and put up in the next meeting. He also directed that the district police officers in consultation with their RPOs should appoint competent inspectors in districts where the posts of DSP Organized Crimes are vacant. He also ordered crackdown against court absconders and their guarantors.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023