In a bizarre incident, a male police officer in Pakistan was forced to wear a hijab and pose in a photograph featuring a woman suspected of drug peddling. The incident happened at Daulat Nagar Police Station in Punjab’s Gujrat in Pakistan where Station House officer (SHO) Sub-Inspector Aslam Hunjra asked a constable to play the role of a woman police officer.
According to the reports, on Monday, July 18, SHO Sub-Inspector Aslam Hunjra detained three suspects, including a lady, in connection with two separate cases, one involving illegal firearms and the other involving drug trafficking. As per the Pakistan Police Act, a police raiding squad participating in the arrest of suspects in a criminal case is photographed with them, and if there is a woman among those apprehended, the presence of a lady constable is required in such images.
However, when notified that no lady constable was available for the photograph with the suspects, the Daulat Nagar SHO allegedly asked a male official to play the part by donning a hijab to complete the formality. Regrettably, the cop assigned to play the female role appeared tall enough to be recognized in the photo, which ended up going viral on social media, inviting ridicule from netizens.
Following the social media outrage, the issue was taken up by higher police personnel, including the Gujrat district police officer (DPO), who terminated the SHO in question and sought a probe. The examination has been assigned to Gujrat Sadar circle deputy superintendent of police (DSP), who has been given 24 hours to finish the probe and submit a report.
A senior Gujrat police official explained the incident to the local news media saying that most of the female police officers had been deployed to the Sargodha range for security duties during the by-elections in Bhakkar and Khushab, resulting in a scarcity of female officers. He said that the old-school SHO may have treated the problem lightly, placing one of his male colleagues in the role of the lady constable, overlooking his stature, and bringing shame to the unit.
