BAHAWALPUR, Jan 30: A land-grab scandal allegedly involving officials of the Tehsil Municipal Administration and revenue department has surfaced, with “those very illegal occupants now being denied the official patronage for not paying the hush money they had pledged”.

In an interesting move, two opposition candidates for the upcoming election have seized the opportunity by stepping in and pledging the re-possession of the land to the people in exchange of vote.

The land occupants, who had started construction, have protested their eviction and denying them completing their houses at Musa Colony near Tibba Badar Shair.

Reports said some officials of the city TMA and a patwari illegally charged Rs200,000 each from 30 people to occupy the administration’s land in the colony and the illegal occupants began construction of their houses. It is learnt that there was an understanding between the illegal occupants and the officials concerned that the former would pay Rs300,000 each to the latter to allow them land possession. But as the people concerned refused to pay the balance, the officials demolished the illegal constructions.

Meanwhile, Baleaghur Rehman, a PML-N hopeful, and PPP’s Shahbaz Safdar dashed to the scene where they assured the evicted people of support after winning the election.

City Tehsil Nazim Malik Zahid Mahmood Channar denied the involvement of his officials in the scandal. He told Dawn that none of his employees had charged money from the people in question and the TMA officials had not demolished the structures.

It was the opposition candidates, he said, who had politicised the case. The TMA would take action against the grabbers and dislodge them only after thorough inquiry into the issue.

BOY KILLED: A boy was killed from dog bite in Sharifabad locality here on Wednesday.