ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the police authorities in Punjab province to ensure appointment of female investigation officers (IO) for probing women during any case. During a hearing into a case where a male IO probed a woman over her alleged kidnapping and rape in Gujranwala, Justice Qazi Faez Isa expressed his annoyance over the procedure and directed the Inspector General of Police (IG) of Punjab to convey the court order to all police stations in Urdu language and past it at a prominent place within the stations’ premises.
The counsel of woman during the proceedings said that a male IO investigated the woman who had filed a case against her abduction and rape after filing a divorce case. “When the case was highlighted at the court, the concerned SP issued a show-cause notice to the investigation officer,” he said. The court took exception to it and asked as to how a top officer could issue a shows-cause to an officer appointed by him.
The government counsel assured the court of withdrawing the show-cause notice as the Justice Qazi Faez Isa directed them to take action against the concerned station house officer (SHO) of the police station for the appointment. Meanwhile, during the proceedings, the apex court judge also admonished the senior superintendent for calling Inspector General of Punjab as IG Saheb, saying that nowhere in the word a suffix is added to the word IG.
“We got independence in 1947 but still our police is acting in the tenure when we were ruled by Englishmen,” he said.
