March 13, 2007	Tuesday	Safar 23, 1428

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MULTAN, March 12: The 150-year-old Maal Khana or treasury of the Multan district police has been decaying for a long time and confiscated commodities by police are left here rotting, Dawn has learnt.

The treasury, located on the premises of the district courts, was built by Major SE Voyle, then Multan deputy commissioner, in 1859.

The treasury houses seized commodities and two-wheel vehicles by all the police stations in the district.

The in charge of the treasury is responsible for producing the recovered commodities in front of a judge if court asks so. The staff also returns the commodities to their owners on court’s orders.

The treasury is consisted of a single room and even though the number of police station has grown, the treasury has not been repaired and extended.

Heaps of medicines, pesticides, electronics and agricultural instruments, canes of acid, furniture, motorcycles, iron stairs and cotton bales are lying at sixes and sevens in the compound and roof of the treasury.

There are only three chairs for staff members and one chair is for any visitor. Five security personals are deployed round-the-clock at Maal Khana to protect the seized commodities.

The treasury has box wherein the staff keeps weapons after writing a note about the weapon and the police station that submitted it, and an entry number of the weapon. The staff keeps seized cash other precious things in another box.

When it rains, the rainwater trickles from the roof.

Shameer Ahmed, in charge of treasury, said that commodities remained in the treasury for many years because of prolonged litigations.

He said that police submitted seized drugs to Maal Khana and drugs were burnt down in the presence of police officials, magistrate and reporters.

Muneer Ahmed Chishti, Multan district police officer, said that police submitted the recovered things to the treasury when a case was sent to court for trial. He said the district coordination officer was the administrative authority of the treasury.

Qazi Ishfaq Ahmed, district revenue officer, however differed with the DPO and said the police department was the administrative authority of the treasury under the news setup. He said civil authorities were the administrative authority under the district magistrate system. He said the revenue department had asked the police department to vacate the land where Maal Khana was established. DCO Iftikhar Babar was not available for comments.