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GUJRANWALA, June 20: A scam of allotment of state land on forged documents surfaced in Wazirabad after 14 years, it is learnt on Wednesday. Mardan Husain of Allahabad grabbed 50 kanals and two marlas land in the area of Shesh Mahal in connivance with the revenue officials in 1993. The market value of the land is around Rs100 million.
The scam surfaced in 2005 when the government prepared a development plan on the land.
The grabber claimed that he was the owner of the land and produced a decision of the then deputy settlement commissioner Syed Maqbool Husian announced on November 13, 1993.
The revenue department started an inquiry and found the documents bogus. A deputy secretary (R&S) ordered revenue department to cancel the deed and register case against the grabber and the officials concerned.
Later, Wazirabad deputy district officer (revenue) found that 20 kanals agricultural land has already been sold. He reported the matter to the district officer (DO) and sought permission for revision of transfer. But the DO took serious notice of not registering a case against the land grabber and ordered immediate registration of the case.
Insiders told this correspondent on Wednesday that registration of case has been delayed due to involvement of some senior officers of revenue department in the scam.
When contacted, Wazirabad DDO (revenue) Iqbal Warriach said some legal hurdles delayed registration of case. However, he pledged that stern action would be taken against the land grabbers.
PROTEST: The traders of jewellery market in Wazirabad on Wednesday went on shutter-down strike to protest against the police for not arresting the gangsters who had robbed three guest jewellers of Sargodha.
According to reports, a number of jewellers gathered in the market after closing their shops and chanted slogans against the police.
They said four robbers had deprived three guest jewellers of jewellery worth Rs6.5 million, mobile phones and Rs150,000 in cash a few days ago and the police had failed to arrest them.
Jewellers of Sargodha also observed strike while a three-member delegation reached Wazirabad and expressed solidarity with their colleagues.
Later, a delegation of jewellers met Wazirabad DSP and gave him 10 days to trace and arrest the culprits.
ARRESTED: More than 39 people, who were deported by the Turkish government, were arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency on Wednesday.
Reports said some human agents sent these people to Turkey illegally who were arrested by border security and detained in jail. Later, the Turkish government deported them.
An FIA team, led by inspector Mian Sabir, went to Islamabad airport and arrested them. The agency would produce them in court for their physical remand on Thursday (today).
TORTURE ON PRISONER: The anti-terrorism court No 1 on Wednesday took serious notice of torture of a prisoner in Sialkot by jail officials and ordered superintendent to submit his written reply in court.
The Sialkot jail superintendent appeared in the court and claimed that the allegation was baseless. The judge censured him and ordered to submit his reply on June 26.
