MANSEHRA, Nov 8: An importer of Chinese goods implicated by the officials of Ghazikot customs checkpoint in a false case is languishing in jail for the last several weeks.

Gul Hassan Shah, a resident of Kohistan district, informed newsmen on the premises of the district courts here that he was carrying out a legal business of Chinese goods since 1994.

He alleged that he was falsely implicated in a case by the officials of the Ghazikot customs checkpoint on Sept 10, when he refused to pay them the illegal gratification of Rs52,000 for transit of two trucks carrying custom-paid goods.

He said that he was carrying shoes and woollen wear from Soast border to Rawalpindi.

He said, as a general prac-tice, the customs’ officials received Rs10,000 per truck on all the checkpoints up to Rawalpindi.

He, however, alleged that since the posting of a new officer at Ghazikot checkpoint, the customs staff started demanding Rs25,000 per truck for the officers and Rs1,000 for the subordinate staff.

He said that the customs officials stop the trucks loaded with Chinese goods at Shaheen hotel near the Government Postgraduate College in Mansehra, which is about four kilometre from the Ghazikot checkpoint.

They have adopted this method just to escape public attention when dealing with the truckers, he added.

Narrating his ordeal, Gul Hassan Shah said: “On the night of the occurrence, I was asked by the Ghazikot customs’ officials near the Shaheen hotel to pay them Rs52,000 for the transit of two trucks, but I refused as the goods were duty paid and I had the valid documents in my possession.”

The trader said that when he drove away the trucks and passed the Ghazikot checkpoint, he was intercepted by the Abbottabad police who had been informed by the customs staff that the two trucks were carrying illegal goods.

The police party brought him back to Mansehra where the customs staff thoroughly checked the goods and found them duty-paid, Gul Hassan said.

He said that as the customs officials failed to find anything unlawful in the goods, they implicated him in a false case and managed to register an FIR against him under Sections 506/186/189/149/353 of PPC.

He said that it was against the law and human rights that he was put in jail for having committed no crime. He demanded of the higher authorities to initiate a probe into the matter and take action against the corrupt officials.