PESHAWAR: A government inquiry conducted into the Women’s Crisis Centre in Peshawar has exposed serious administrative negligence, record tampering and open violations of rules and regulations. The report has recommended that strict departmental action be taken against the responsible officers for negligence, record tampering, misrepresentation of facts and violation of SOPs.
According to the inquiry report into the case of a woman’s disappearance and subsequent re-admission, Rukhsana Bibi was handed over to the Women’s Crisis Centre Peshawar by Landi Kotal Police Station on December 28, 2025 on court orders. However, no proper admission form or written record regarding her admission was provided to the inquiry committee, despite claims by police, chowkidar, and office staff that these documents had already been handed over to the office and manager.
The report states that the WCC manager refused to provide records and passwords, which the inquiry committee termed as negligence of duty and concealment of facts.
According to the inquiry, Rukhsana Bibi escaped from the Women’s Crisis Centre on December 29, 2025 at around 5:24pm. The incident was noted by a warden and was reported to the manager at around 6pm. However, the manager arrived at the center approximately two hours later, which the report described as lethargic and irresponsible conduct by both the manager and the warden. Later that night, at around 11:30 pm, the matter was reported to the Hayatabad Police Station.
The inquiry report further revealed that on December 30, 2025, District Officer Social Welfare Shazia Gul was informed by the manager that the missing woman had been released by the court. However, no court release order was produced in support of this claim.
During the inspection, tampering in the attendance register also came to surface. According to the report, the page showing Rukhsana Bibi’s attendance from December 28 to 31 was removed from the register, and her attendance was recorded on another page. The District Officer saved photographs of the register as evidence, while the warden also confirmed making changes to the attendance.
CCTV footage further made it clear that on December 31, 2025, Rukhsana Bibi was brought back to the Women’s Crisis Center by a lady police constable and a male police official. However, even on this occasion, no written admission or handover record was provided.
Despite this, the manager later reported to the police that Rukhsana Bibi was recovered from an adjacent building and brought back to WCC, and that she did not want to proceed further in the matter. The inquiry also revealed that no mandatory medical examination of Rukhsana Bibi was conducted either at the time of her first admission or at the time of her second admission, which is a serious violation of the rules.
The report also raised questions over the postings and administrative status of certain WCC officials and stated that administrative irregularities led to this serious situation and failure to handle it properly. The inquiry committee concluded that the attendance register was deliberately tampered with, and since the manager and the warden are custodians of this register, both are directly responsible for the matter. The report recommended strict departmental action against the responsible officers for negligence, record tampering, misrepresentation of facts and violation of SOPs.
An official, declared responsible in the inquiry, told this correspondent that they had informed the inquiry committee of the facts. However, in case of any disciplinary action, they reserve the right to defend themselves.
The official said it is not appropriate to place responsibility on all staff and that the requirements of justice should be fulfilled.
