April 07, 2007	Saturday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 18, 1428

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GUJAR KHAN, April 6: The Town Municipal Administration (TMA) has registered a criminal case against more than 40 people including, a former chairman of the defunct municipal committee, for razing a wall that it had constructed to separate encroached portion of a plaza.

TMA inspector enforcement Arshad Hameed reported to the Gujar Khan police that in the small hours of Thursday about 40 to 50 people armed with weapons and clubs barged into the TMA offices.

The intruders confined the firemen and security guards to a room and demolished the walls constructed to partition the encroached section.

Accused nominated in the case included Chaudhry Fazal Hussain, Chaudhry Walayat Hussain, Chaudhry Mohammad Ishfaq and Zahoor Hussain.

According to the complainant, the TMA staff performing night duty were also threatened with dire consequences. The alleged attackers reportedly ransacked the place and took away some official record.

The complainant claimed that windowpanes were also smashed and 25 bags of cement were taken away by the attackers.

It is pertinent to mention that the row between the TMA Gujar Khan and the plaza owners had been continuing for a month.

The local administration is of the view that 760 square feet was illegally encroached and four-storey plaza with basement was constructed on the land not owned by them.

The owners had taken the matter to the court, however, according to TMA a stay granted by the court was vacated after presentation of the relevant record in subsequent proceedings. On April 4, the Town Municipal Administration walled the encroached portion of the plaza to take further action.

Town Nazim Chaudhry Mohammad Azeem, when contacted, said it was an unlawful act on part of the encroachers. The nazim said he had no vested interest in the case and was only following the legal course to get the government owned land vacated.

The TMA offices are temporarily housed in the same plaza on rent basis, while the building was constructed before the induction of the sitting nazim.

Highwaymen loot expat: A gang of robbers on Friday mugged the family of an expat near the Dulmi area, sources told Dawn.

The victim, Rashid Chohan, was moving towards the village of Adra Kalan when he had to stop as a car was parked in the middle of the Dulmi-Jerro Ratial link road. A vehicle following Mr Chohan’s car blocked the road from the rear.

As the vehicle stopped, two Punjabi-speaking armed men directed Mr Chohan and two other women in the car to give up everything they possessed.

“Seeing pistols in the hands of the robbers, we handed over to them gold ornaments, purses and wallets and cellphones to save our lives,” the terrified expatriate said.