Lahore, Sep 10 (IANS): Pakistan's Punjab province has banned officers below the rank of SHO from using video recording enabled smartphones inside police stations.

The move came after the increase in video clips displaying Punjab Police's brutality and misconduct, The Express Tribune reported.

Citizens too will not be allowed to take cellphones inside police stations and required to deposit them outside when they enter, according to Inspector General of Police (IGP) Arif Nawaz.

Lower-ranking officers will instead be allowed to use ordinary phones that do not have the video recording feature.

Rawalpindi CPO Faisal Rana held a meeting with police officers in this regard and later forwarded written instructions to relevant officers against illegally detaining citizens and torturing them.

Instructions were also given on the use of mobile phones by lower ranked officers, while recording and uploading videos of on-duty officers was also "strictly forbidden".

The moves comes a day after the Punjab IGP issued a warning letter to senior police personnel over custodial deaths.

Nawaz expressed extreme displeasure over the deaths in police custody. He was also dismayed over the arbitrary discontinuation of the monitoring of police stations through CCTV cameras by district and police officials.