DERA GHAZI KHAN/LAHORE: The Punjab government has placed assistant commissioner Kot Chutta under suspension with immediate effect, following his alleged involvement in a reported incident wherein several citizens were handcuffed with ropes and paraded through the tehsil on a garbage-carrying vehicle.
According to a notification issued by the Services & General Administration Department (Administration Wing) on Sunday, the action was taken on account of inefficiency and misconduct under Section 6 of the PEEDA Act, 2006.
AC Zulfiqar Ali Khan has been directed to report to the Administration Wing, Services & General Administration Department, Punjab.
Deputy Commissioner (DC) Dera Ghazi Khan has been directed to furnish a charge-sheet against the AC regarding the February 21 incident in tehsil Kot Chutta.
The development comes after an incident in Tehsil Kot Chhuta triggered public anger. According to reports, several citizens were allegedly handcuffed and made to sit in a loader rickshaw. Their hands were tied with ropes and they were paraded through the tehsil on a garbage-carrying vehicle.
Residents expressed outrage over the incident, terming it humiliating and demanding action against the assistant commissioner.
Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Usman Khalid told The News that he had ordered an inquiry against AC Zulfiqar Ali Khan over his alleged inappropriate conduct during enforcement of the Ehtram-e-Ramzan Ordinance.
He said he took notice after reports surfaced that citizens were handcuffed and transported in a loader rickshaw, while earlier accounts also alleged that their hands had been tied with ropes and they were paraded through the tehsil.
DC Khalid has appointed additional deputy commissioner (Revenue), Dera Ghazi Khan, as the inquiry officer and directed him to submit a report within three days.
Speaking to The News, he said further action would be taken in light of the inquiry findings, adding that the matter will be investigated in a transparent and impartial manner.
He noted that while the assistant commissioner has the authority to initiate arrests, police should have been called if any violation had occurred and citizens should not have been treated in a manner that could be seen as insulting.
