TAXILA, Aug 10: The anti-corruption department booked seven members of former tehsil municipal administration Hassanabdal, including the former nazim, on the charge of embezzlement and anomalies in procurement of over 106 kanals of land for construction of a cricket stadium in 2006.

A team of the anti-corruption establishment took the record of the land procurement in custody after interviewing officials of the tehsil municipal administration and revenue department.

The team found that the seven-member committee led by former tehsil nazim Shafqat Khan and comprising former naib tehsil nazim Sadda Hussain Shah, former nazim UC 27 Kafiyat Awan, former naib nazim UC 27 Malik Mohammad Khursheed; Zubair Iqbal, councilors Fida Hussain Shah and Shamsa Kanwal allegedly procured the land at an exorbitant rate.

The team observed that the market value of the land situated away from the city in a barren and hilly area on Bhafaud Road was Rs30,000 per kanal but the committee procured it at the rate of Rs90,000 per kanal.

An official of the anti-corruption department told this correspondent that a case had been registered against the seven accused and raids would be conducted for their arrest soon.

On the other hand, the former members of the tehsil government rejected the allegations and termed it political victimisation by the Punjab government as all the members belonged to the PML-Q.