Deductions in Ehsas money spread to many Sindh cities

Police arrested several private staff members in Larkana after the people alleged that they were deducting up to Rs1,000 from the card-holders under the Ehsas Kafaalat Programme, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Wednesday.

The report came just a day after the TV channel reported that the Tiger Force members in Umer Kot were fleecing the women by giving them Rs11,500 instead of Rs12,000 – a special instalment announced by the government for the deserving people because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, this corrupt practice is not limited to Umer Kot and Larkana as women complained and protested over illegal deductions in Sujawal, Makli, Sanghar, Khairpur and Qambar.

But in Khairpur, the situation turned uglier when police resorted to baton-charge as the protesting women that the male policemen deployed at the centre were extorting Rs500 from them. Similar allegations were levelled against police in Makli.

And in Qambar, the system used by the private staffers to disburse money sudden stopped working as soon as the 24NewsHD team reached the centre.

According to details, the women staged a protest at the local centre in Larkana as they stated that the private staff distributing the money were charging from Rs500 to Rs1,000 from the beneficiaries.

Later, the police detained their in-charge Rahim Bakhsh Korai and others over the allegations.

 Earlier on Tuesday, women in Umer Kot accused the Tiger Force members of “charging” Rs500 from every card-holder under Ehsas Kafaalat Programme.

But in some cases, this extortion money is reportedly up to 1,500 as the local officials promised that they would look into the complaints to stop the practice.

Khuda Bakhsh – Ehsas Kafaalat Programme in-charge in Umer Kot – confirmed that they had received complaints, but no money would be deducted in future, adding that action would be taken against the responsible Tiger Force members.

Reacting to the serious issue, Umer Kot Deputy Commissioner Nadeem-ur-Rehman Memon too said that they would not spare the Tiger Force members who had been involved in the episode.

Meanwhile, no one is interested in ensuring implementing the SOPs set for fighting the coronavirus pandemic at the Ehsas centres where a great rush of women is always witnessed. But the only thing the Tiger Force volunteers are interested in at these places is minting money.