Update: According to documents provided to Dawn by government officials, Ms Rani Hafa Kanwal was exonerated by the Establishment Division of charges levelled against her via orders Orders No 1/15/2020-D.1 and 1/4/2020-D.1 upon the completion of internal inquiries. The cases registered against Ms Rani Hafsa Kanwal under FIR No. 16/2020, No. 17/2020, and No. 26/2020 were subsequently cancelled by the Anti-Corruption Court, Gujranwala.

GUJRAT: The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) has finally arrested former additional deputy commissioner revenue (ADCR) Dr Rani Hafsa Kanwal on charges of illegally transferring a huge chunk of state’s commercial land in Gujrat city worth around Rs500 million.

The land was owned by the Punjab Cooperatives Board Limited.

She had already been booked by the ACE in another case of award of contract for sand excavation from the Chenab last month; however she was granted protective bail by the Lahore High Court on Monday (Aug 3) till Aug 18.

On Tuesday night, the ACE raided Chamba house in Lahore and arrested Ms Rani after registration of another case against her in which she was charged with illegally transferring 31 kanal and 12 marla land to some private persons namely Mirza Mubarak Beg and Mirza Azhar Iqbal etc in 2019 as Gujrat ADCR.

The [fresh] case had been referred to the ACE for inquiry by the chief secretary and after conducting the initial probe the ACE booked her under sections 420, 468 and 471 of PPC and 5/2/47 of anti-corruption act on the report of Gujranwala ACE assistant director Ijaz Ahmed.

She was on protective bail in sand excavation contract case

Rani was posted as Gujrat ADCR weeks ahead of the July 2018 general elections and continued to serve on the post for two years before she was transferred from Gujrat by the Punjab government after registration of a graft case against her in the sand excavation case.

Official sources said Gujranwala former commissioner Zahid Akhtar Zaman had [once] sent a written report to the provincial government about the alleged corruption of Rani Hafsa but she could not be removed due to the ‘support of some political bosses.’

The sources said these cases were brought into the notice of Prime Minister Imran Khan who directed a stern action against all the suspects.

It was learnt that the premier sought reports from intelligence agencies about the affairs of Gujrat and Mandi Bahauddin after some of his party’s respective lawmakers lodged complaints with him.

The PM reportedly directed the Punjab government to remove all officers in the administration, police and other departments of Gujrat and Mandi Bahauddin after which a list was prepared but so far only Hafsa Kanwal was transferred.

Meanwhile, the ACE got 24-hour transitory remand of Kanwal from the court in Lahore and she was brought to Gujrat where she was being kept at the city’s B-division police lock-up until Thursday (today) before being produced to the Gujranwala [ACE] court for further remand.

The Punjab government has not yet posted any officer on the vacant seat of Gujrat ADCR after the removal of Kanwal 10 days ago.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2020