President issues reprimand to Tashkent police chief and city prosecutor

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has issued an official reprimand to Tashkent City Main Department of Internal Affairs head Ravshan Sultonkhodjaev and Acting Tashkent City Prosecutor Anvar Urmonov. He made the remarks today, January 27, during a video conference meeting held at the Security Directorate under the Tashkent City Main Department of Internal Affairs.

According to the President, instead of focusing on solving crimes and preventing offenses, the two officials have been preoccupied with touring the city in a minibus. He also criticized the quality of work carried out by investigators and inquiry officers within Tashkent’s internal affairs system.

As an example, the President noted that due to insufficient qualifications among officers, 833 criminal cases were not initiated last year and were concealed from official records.

Although reports claimed that crime in the capital had decreased by 2,000 cases, 26 mahallas in Tashkent remain classified as “red” zones, while 465 are still categorized as “yellow.”

Among the country’s 208 districts, Chilanzar ranks first in cases of domestic violence, robbery, and hooliganism, while Yunusabad leads in robbery-related crimes. Last year, the highest number of murder cases was recorded in Yashnobod and Mirobod districts, bodily injury cases in Olmazor, and robbery cases in Shaykhontohur.

As a result, all heads of internal affairs departments in these districts were recently replaced. The President stressed that the newly appointed officials must take initiative and implement decisive changes to curb crime in their respective areas.

During the meeting, it was again emphasized that instead of addressing crime prevention and detection, the head of the Tashkent City police and the acting city prosecutor had failed to demonstrate effective leadership.

Ravshan Sultonkhodjaev and Anvar Urmonov were formally reprimanded and placed on a six-month probationary period.

Earlier, during the same video conference meeting at the Security Directorate, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev had stated that heads of law enforcement agencies were failing to serve as an example for the rest of the country.