MANSEHRA: The police have booked the Mansehra tehsil chairman, and three others, including a revenue department official (patwari), for allegedly receiving Rs2.2 million from a woman to sell her a plot in the Ghazikot area.

Additional sessions judge Nisar Mohammad Khan had earlier this week ordered the registration of an FIR against tehsil chairman Sheikh Mohammad Shafi, Mohammad Rashid, and his brother Mohammad Khalid, and the patwari concerned after a complainant, Syeda Nazia Masoom, moved it for justice.

SHO city police station Asim Bukhari told reporters that the FIR had been registered against the four suspects, and Mr Shafi had secured transit bail from the district and sessions judge in Abbottabad. “The district and sessions judge Abbottabad directed Mr Shafi to appear before the sessions judge in Mansehra on August 18,” Mr Bukhari said.

The complainant, a resident of Pulrah, informed the court that she had been living in Rawalpindi with her family and had sold her gold ornaments and house to relocate to Mansehra.

She alleged Sheikh Shafi, using his influence as tehsil chairman, took Rs2.2 million from her for a six-marla plot in Ghazikot Township. However, when she demanded possession, he sought more time.

She claimed Mr Shafi leveraged his position to influence the departments concerned, forcing her to file a petition under Section 22-A of the CrPC to secure court orders for the FIR’s registration against him and the other accused.

ALTERNATIVE ROAD: The district administration on Tuesday began construction of an alternative route to reconnect the Kandia Valley with the rest of Upper Kohistan.

The only road linking Kandia Valley to the district was washed away in recent flash floods.

The deputy commissioner has directed the communication and works department to ensure the early reopening of the route by building an alternative section, where the road had been destroyed, according to a statement issued by the district administration. The department has started the construction work.

The district administration said the same road had also been blocked earlier due to multiple landslides. At the time, residents were provided access to their villages via a local stream, which recently swelled due to glacier melt.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2025