Pak’s 1st Sikh cop sacked for absenteeism
LAHORE: Pakistan’s first Sikh police officer has been sacked from service for being absent from office for over three months, a traffic police spokesperson said on Friday.
Gulab Singh, 35, has been dismissed from work for staying absent from office for over three months, traffic police spokesperson Ali Nawaz told PTI.
“SP (traffic) Asif Sadiq, after an inquiry against Gulab Singh for staying absent from office over three months, has dismissed him from service. He could not defend himself before an inquiry committee,” Nawaz said. He said Singh can file an appeal in the office of the deputy inspector general, traffic police, against his dismissal.
Last month, Singh had claimed that he was forcibly evicted by the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), the parent body of Sikh Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC) from his house in a village near Lahore along with his children and wife. Talking to PTI, Singh alleged that the traffic police SP had taken action against him on the request of the ETPB.
“The board had approached the traffic police and asked SP Sadiq to pressure me to withdraw a case against the board officials for illegally evicting me and my family members from our house at Gurdwara Janamsthan Bebe Nanki, Dera Chahal Lahore,” he said.
He said he had an accident and presented a medical certificate along with his leave application to the department. “Since the department had no other legal point to initiate action it chose to proceed against me on the leave issue,” he said, adding he was confident that the DIG traffic would listen to him and restore him during the course of appeal. Singh said he would not withdraw his case in the court against his and his family members’ illegal eviction by the ETPB.
“Even the Supreme Court has taken notice of our illegal eviction and the board is worried about that,” he said.
GULAB SINGH ALLEGES ACTION TAKEN AGAINST HIM IN THE WAKE OF A CASE HE HAS FILED AGAINST HIS EVICTION FROM A LAHORE HOUSE