Four police officers arrested on charges of extortion by cricketers Sohaib Maqsood, Aamir Yamin

• The police are filing a case against those involved.
• Policemen arrested by Nawabshah.
• The inquiry report is also sent to IG Sindh.

Sindh police on Tuesday arrested four policemen whose involvement in corruption was confirmed after Pakistani cricketers Sohaib Maqsood and Aamir Yamin alleged that they were being blackmailed on social media.

The police, following the cricketer’s complaint, swung into action to arrest its personnel – who were serving at the Sakrand police station – for exceeding their powers. The officers were then taken into custody by the Nawabshah and put behind bars.

Both Maqsood and Yamin earlier today criticized the alleged “corruption” of the Sindh Police after they were both stopped by law enforcement officials who demanded bribes while traveling to Multan.

The cricketers were playing for Multan Districts in the National T20 Cup and were reportedly stopped by the police when they returned home from Karachi and demanded money.

According to Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Shaheed Benazirabad Parvez Chandio, a case has been registered against the officials for taking money from the cricketers.

Meanwhile, the Station House Officer (SHO) and Chief Inspector of Sakrand Police Station have been suspended after being found guilty of negligence, Sindh Police spokesperson told Geo News.

A statement released by the District Police Officer (DPO) also said that DIG Shaheed Benazirabad, in an investigation report, reported the bribery of national cricketers that took place on the Superhighway between 12:00 and 01:00 yesterday the evening.

“Four policemen of Sakrand police station were found involved in the incident,” Sindh Police spokesperson said.

It is added that a formal FIR has been lodged against them and legal action has been initiated while the SHO of Sakrand police station and other officials have been suspended after they were found guilty of negligence.

An inquiry report is also being sent to IG Sindh, the spokesperson said.

Chandio said legal action is being taken against the officials by registering a formal first information (FIR) against them.

The incident took place at Kairia stand where two police mobiles were deployed for duty, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Haider Raza said in a separate statement, adding that the photographs of the policemen were sent to Maqsood for identification.

The police had earlier said that they had launched an investigation and would take departmental action against the officers who stopped the athletes and demanded bribes from them.

Police stepped up efforts by involving police, highways and excise police in their search and deployment on the National Highway.

The SSP said those involved in the incident would be punished.

What happened?

Sohaib and Aamer took to their X accounts to call out the misconduct and corruption of the Sindh police, saying they considered themselves lucky not to live in Sindh.

“We are so lucky to live in Punjab and not Sindh for the first time in my life I am traveling from Karachi to Multan by road and the Sindh police are so corrupt they stop you after 50 km and ask you for money or threaten you to go to police station for no reason,” Sohaib wrote on X.

“If you give them money then they will stop you again after 50km and ask for money again corruption at its peak in Sindh police. We told them that we are international cricketers traveling to Multan after our match in Karachi, they took another 8000 thousand rupees and then let us go,” he continued.

Inspector General (IG) Sindh Riffat Mukhtar on Tuesday took cognizance of Maqsood and Yamin’s posts on X, formerly Twitter, protesting the Sindh Police’s misconduct towards them.

IG Sindh has directed DIG Shaheed Benazirabad to investigate the incident on an urgent basis and urged him to take strict and exemplary action against those involved, Sindh Police spokesperson confirmed.

Remember, the National T20 Cup is currently being held across four venues in Karachi with 18 teams vying for the coveted trophy.

The group stage matches are currently underway and conclude on November 28. The Super Eight phase will begin on December 1.