RAHIM YAR KHAN: Three special teams of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) inquiry commission will start investigation soon into the sugar price hike over the past few months.

Sources said the teams were scheduled to arrive on Thursday and start checking the records of three sugar mills of the district and remain here for 10 days.

According to a letter dated March 18 issued from the office of the assistant commissioner, the police and other departments concerned were asked to make security arrangements for these teams.

Later, the district police department issued a letter on March 19 informing all their branches, including civil defence, to facilitate the special teams.

The first team headed by Sajid Ikram will investigate the Jamal Din Wali (JDW) Sugar Mills Unit 1 at Jamaldinwali. The second team headed by Khalid Ameen will check the records of JDW Sugar Mills Unit 2 at Goth Machi in Sadiqabad tehsil and the third headed by Kashif Muhammad Ali will visit the Hamza Sugar Mills at Jetha Bhatta in Khanpur tehsil.

The first two sugar mills are owned by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf central leader Jahangir Tareen and PPP south Punjab President Makhdoom Syed Ahmed Mehmood, while the third is owned by a private media group.

However, the district police chief’s spokesman told Dawn that the FIA teams were yet to arrive here. Their visit could be delayed due to the coronavirus threat, he added.

Published in Dawn, March 21st, 2020