LAHORE, Oct 25: The Federal Investigation Agency on Friday registered an FIR against a former chairman of the Evacuee Trust Property Board, a former federal secretary, and six other officials for allegedly causing a loss of millions of rupees to the exchequer in a shoddy land deal with the Defence Housing Authority, Lahore, and arrested five of the accused.

Syed Asif Hashmi, the former chairman of ETPB; former federal secretary Abdul Ghaffar Soomro, former federal joint secretary Tanvir Ali Shah, ETPB vice-chairman Syed Awan Jafari, administrator Chaudhry Saeed Anwar, deputy administrator Asif Raza Sheikh, Naib Tehsildar Mohammad Saddique and former ETPB secretary for land and property Salim Sandhu were booked under sections 409 (criminal breach of trust), 109 (abetment), 420 (fraud and cheating), and 468 and 471 (wrong presentation of facts) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

An FIA team headed by Director Lahore Qudratullah Khan Murawat is investigating the case.

Assistant Director Jamil Ahmed Khan Mayo, who is part of the team, told Dawn that the agency had got the FIR registered on the order of the Supreme Court.

He said five accused – Mr Jafari, Mr Anwar, Mr Sheikh, Mr Saddique and Mr Sandhu – had been arrested and raids were being made to arrest the remaining.

Mr Mayo said red warrants would be issued to bring Mr Hashmi back from the UK. He said five private persons – Nazir Hussain, Amer Abbas, Shah Jehan, Kamran Baig and Imran Bhatti – would also be taken into custody for making Rs650 million in the deal.

The nominated officials are accused of selling ETBP’s 843 kanals in Mauza Mota Singhwala and Mauza Lidhar (where Phase-VI of the DHA has been developed) to the Defence Housing Authority.

The accused had revised an earlier deal, agreeing to receive 25 per cent of the undeveloped plots instead of 33pc ‘developed’ exempted plots.

Mr Hashmi had claimed that the federal government had authorised the sale of land to the DGA against 25pc exempted plots.