Four members of the Sindh Police were apprehended on Tuesday following the confirmation of their involvement in corruption.
This action was taken after Pakistani cricketers Sohaib Maqsood and Aamir Yamin filed complaints on social media, alleging extortion by the police officers.
In response to the cricketers' grievances, the Sindh Police promptly acted against its own personnel stationed at the Sakrand police station.
The officers were taken into custody in Nawabshah and subsequently placed behind bars.
Maqsood and Yamin had earlier expressed dissatisfaction with the Sindh Police, claiming corruption when officers from the Sakrand police station demanded bribes as they were en route to Multan for the National T20 Cup.
Playing for Multan Regions, the cricketers were stopped by the police upon returning from Karachi and coerced into paying money.
A case was registered against the officers for accepting funds from the athletes, as confirmed by Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Shaheed Benazirabad, Parvez Chandio.
Following the incident, the station house officer (SHO) and head inspector of Sakrand police station were suspended due to negligence, according to the Sindh police spokesperson.
The district police officer (DPO) released a statement, referring to an inquiry report by DIG Shaheed Benazirabad detailing the bribery incident that occurred on the Superhighway between 12 am and 1 am.
The Sindh police spokesperson mentioned that four policemen from Sakrand police station were implicated in the incident, leading to the formal registration of an FIR and the initiation of legal action against them. The suspended SHO and other officials were found guilty of negligence.
Chandio stated that legal action is being pursued by registering a formal First Information Report (FIR) against the implicated officials.
The incident unfolded at the Kairia stop, where two police mobiles were deployed for duty, according to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Haider Raza in a separate statement.
Photographs of the involved officers were sent to Maqsood for identification.
The police, in collaboration with motorway police and excise police, escalated efforts in the investigation, deploying them on the National Highway.
The SSP assured that those found responsible for the incident would face punishment.
Taking to X (formerly known as Twitter), Maqsood said: ‘’Money then they will stop you again after 50 km and ask for money against corruption at it’s peak in Sindh police. We told them that we are international cricketers travelling to Multan after our match in Karachi they still took Rs8,000 and then let us go.’’
money then they will stop you again after 50 km and ask for money again corruption at it’s peak in sindh police 🙏🏻
— Sohaib Maqsood (@sohaibcricketer) November 27, 2023
We told them that we are international cricketers travelling to multan after our match in Karachi they still took 8000 thousand rupees and then let us go it will
We are so lucky that we live in Punjab not in Sindh first time in my life I am travelling from Karachi to Multan by road and Sindh police is so corrupt that they stop you after 50 km and ask for money or threat you to go to the police for no reason if you give them.
