August 09, 2008	Saturday	Sha’aban 6, 1429

GUJRANWALA, Aug 8: The chief secretary has ordered the district coordination officer (DCO) to probe into alleged corruption and land grabbing by registry branch and revenue officials in Kamoki tehsil.

Asif Bhatti wrote to Chief Secretary Javed Mehmood that revenue officials prepared fake documents of his 20-marla land worth Rs5 million and sold it to other people. The Anti-Corruption Establishment registered a case against two sub-registrars, a qanongo, patwaris, lumberdars and revenue clerks but police did not arrest the accused. DCO Dr Pervaiz Ahmad Khan will probe into the matter.

STRIKE: Anjuman Patwarian in Gujranwala observed a complete strike and set up a protest camp on the premises of the Gujranwala tehsil office. Protesters said patwaris had been working in grade 5 since 1947 while the grade of the assistant sub-inspector had been increased from grade 5 to 11. They demanded patwaris be promoted to grade 11 and qanongo to grade 14.

RAID: Police and Civil Defense officials cracked down on scrap dealers and fireworks shopkeepers and confiscated at least six scrap bombs from steel mills and huge quantity of fireworks from shopkeepers.

The crackdown was ordered by the DCO who received complaints that scrap dealers bought material from the tribal areas which caused fatal incidents. Complainants said shopkeepers had also stored fireworks in their shops for the Shaaban festival.