Rapid Response Force, Crowd Management Unit To Be Launched In Hyderabad Soon : IG Sindh Police

The Inspector General of Sindh Police Ghulam Nabi Memon on Tuesday said that Rapid Response Force (RRF) and Crowd Management Unit (CMU) will be launched soon in Hyderabad in addition to up-gradation of the Counter Terrorism Department

HYDERABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Nov, 2022 ) :The Inspector General of Sindh Police Ghulam Nabi Memon on Tuesday said that Rapid Response Force (RRF) and Crowd Management Unit (CMU) will be launched soon in Hyderabad in addition to up-gradation of the Counter Terrorism Department.

He said this while addressing a reception hosted by Sindh Chamber of Small Trade and Small Industry (HCSTSI) at a banquet in Latifabad and talking to the media at Hyderabad Press Club on Tuesday.

The IGP added that 500 personnel of RRF and as many of CMU would be deputed in Hyderabad.

He expressed hope that the RRF would help the district police in crime fighting more efficiently and that it would be available for action in all parts of the city.

Likewise, he said the CMU's personnel, who would be trained in anti riot policing, would help the district police cope with the riotous situations.

"The Sindh Finance Department has approved these proposals while the Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah is also expected to give his nod soon," he told.

According to him, a CTD complex would be constructed in Hyderabad and the department's coordination with the office of DIG Hyderabad would also be established.

He acknowledged the issues highlighted by business community with regard to the traffic police, saying that the 30 percent amount from the fines collected by the traffic police was not being transferred back to the police against the rules.

"In view of this complaint we have already asked the finance department to cut that 30 percent amount at source," he apprised.

He said half of that 30 percent was utilized to reward the wardens and the remaining half over upgrade of the traffic police.

Responding to the demand of the chamber for sending back to Hyderabad around 300 traffic policemen who have remained deployed in Karachi for many years, the IGP said he would look into the issue after returning to Karachi.

"If you ask me, I would like to withdraw even the remaining 300 traffic policemen from Hyderabad and replace them with technology for more effective traffic regulation," he said, sharing the government's plan about following the e-ticketing model.

He explained that many developed countries were using the CCTV cameras to regulate traffic and the fines were delivered at the residences of vehicles' owners.

Memon told that the Sindh government had agreed to launch the technology based traffic regulation system which was already in place in many other countries.

The IGP apprised that the 15 emergency police was being upgraded in Karachi and if he received a proposal for a similar upgrade in Hyderabad he would consider it for implementation.

He encouraged the business community and the general public to privately install the CCTV cameras which he said helped the police in crime detection and investigation.

"There are around 43,000 cameras in Karachi which have been installed by the public," he said.

The IGP disclosed that the safe city project, under which cameras would be installed, was long awaiting implementation.

"I installed CCTV cameras in my home after a theft," he said, urging the people to install the cameras for security.

He also shared that the police had planned to install the CCTV cameras at all the 40 toll plazas on the highways and motorway in Sindh so that the criminals travelling on the highways could be traced.

Memon announced that the business community would be given access to the police database so that they could check if the persons they were hiring on the jobs had any criminal record.

Commenting on the actions being taken to curb the menace of narcotics, he informed that he had decided that only the Station House Officer (SHO) of a police station would be made the Investigation Officer (IO) of a case pertaining to narcotics and murder.

Responding to a question, he informed that the Police Department held a meeting with the Excise Department to draw their attention towards the problem of delay in issuance of the number plates of newly registered vehicles.

He assured the business community that he would take up the matter of activating the Citizen Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) in Hyderabad. On the recommendation of a journalist, the IG said he would soon notify 5-member committees which would conduct inquiry of complaints lodged against the journalists at the police stations.

The committees, headed by the respective DIGs, would consist of the district's SSP, a representative of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), President and Secretary of the concerned press clubs.

He refuted that 5,000 or 6,000 policemen from Sindh had been sent to Islamabad for security during Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI's) protest, telling that only 2,000 cops were sent and that they would be coming back in a few days.

Commenting on the new recruitment in the police force, the IGP said the people of a particular domicile district would be recruited and later posted in the same district as part of the community policing initiative.

He claimed that only merit based recruitment were being made in the police. Speaking earlier at the reception, the HCSTSI's President Farooq Shaikhani said Hyderabad's population had increased from 1.2 million to 2.7 million during the last 3 decades but the sanctioned strength of the district's police remained unchanged.

He demanded that the 300 traffic policemen of Hyderabad who were sent to Karachi many years ago should be returned, pointing out that time and again the top police officers had given assurances about returning the cops but no practical step had been taken.

He called for arranging training courses for the traffic policemen. Shaikhani complained that only one traffic signal worked in Hyderabad at Gymkhana chowk and the other at Qasim chowk was operated rarely while both the signals were in Cantt area.

The rest of the city had no traffic signal, resulting in total mayhem at the intersections, he added.

He said in the past there used to be 6 traffic sections in Hyderabad with 20 or more personnel in each section.

However, he added, presently the sections had been increased to 15 but the per section deployed had badly thinned out.

The chamber's President emphasized on the need of reviving the 2002 police order or enforcing the 2019 police act because at present the 140 years old police act was still in place.

He also referred to the difference in the police behaviour at the Police Facilitation Center (PFC) and at the police stations,contending that the people feel nervous if they had to go with some complaint or issue at the police stations.