Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Monday wrote a letter to Inspector General of Police Dr Syed Kaleem Imam and expressed anger over the “unprofessional handling” of the Irshad Ranjahni murder case.
The provincial chief minister directed the police chief to submit a report within 48 hours in this connection.
On February 6, Abdul Rahim Shah, the union council chairman of Bhains Colony — a neighbourhood in the Shah Latif Town area adjacent to the National Highway — shot an alleged street criminal reportedly in self-defence alleging that the suspect wanted to commit an armed robbery.
It later turned out that the alleged mugger, Irshad Ranjhani, was the city president of the nationalist Jeay Sindh Tehreek (JST) party.
Taking action police arrested UC chairman Shah, who belongs to the PML-N, on the charge that he denied the alleged street criminal medical help after shooting him.
In the letter written to the police chief, Murad said he was writing in “utter dismay” with regards to the “unfortunate incident” and added that videos of the incident available on social media portrayed an “inhuman and gory picture”.
As per the letter, the provincial chief minister said Abdul Rahim Shah had “apparently” acted “like the judge, jury and the executioner at the scene and violently flaunted the rule of the gun at the crime scene”.
He added that Shah had not allowed anyone at the site of the incident to take the now deceased individual to the hospital.
“Even if the claim of Abdul Rahim Shah comes out as true after the investigation, the law does not give him licence to kill and take law into his hands,” observed Murad, adding that such verdict remains in the domain of the courts of law.
The chief minister wrote that the incident had “shaken the writ of the state and dented the confidence of the people in the government’s ability to protect and safeguard their lives”.
He said the police force had exhibited “an irresponsible attitude” and had not reached the scene in time, which resulted in the victim succumbing to his gunshot wounds before being shifted to the hospital.
Murad noted that while the police had been exercising “complete autonomy” in its administrative affairs, its efficiency in the discharge of duties, as evidenced by this incident, is “sub-optimal and leaves a lot of room for further improvement”.
He observed that the handling of the incident had “cast serious doubts” on the professionalism and efficiency of the police force.
Murad pointed out that people have started asking “tough questions” about the performance of the police in handling an incident, which may have the “potential of flaring up ethnic emotions and discontent”.
The chief minister reminded IG Imam that the superintendence of police and security situation in Sindh vests in the provincial government.
“I must remind you that the police force was entrusted operational independence by the Sindh High Court for the purpose of improvement in the efficiency,” the chief minister wrote.
“As chief executive of the province, I shall not act as a bystander and watch the fiasco like above to shatter the image of the provincial government,” he asserted.
He pointed out that it was his constitutional responsibility to ensure that the principles of “natural justice and fair play” were adhered to by the departments and agencies of the provincial government.
In view of the incident, the chief minister directed the Sindh inspector general to “expedite the investigation as per law/rules in vogue.”
