LAHORE, Oct 30: In a rare triumph of right over might, a junior prisons department official has managed to win possession of his official residence from the IG of his department through a struggle of around two-and-a-half years.

Faisalabad Central Jail Superintendent Tariq Mahmood Khan Babur, who was posted as jailer on Jan 29, 2010, got vacated his official residence from IG Prisons Kokab Nadeem Warraich around three months ago after hectic efforts involving 15 official correspondences with the Inspectorate of Prisons and the Home Department.

Mr Warraich, who was posted as the IG prisons (in his own pay and scale) during Governor's Rule in March 2009 and was not restored to his earlier position after Shahbaz-led government revived in April 2009, allegedly kept two official residences in violation of the entitlement policy.

Mr Babur alleged in the correspondence that he was forced to stay in a small quarter designated for lower staff and his repeated requests to his own IG proved to be a futile exercise.

In his last correspondence with the provincial home secretary on July 26, 2011, a copy of which is available with Dawn, the jailer stated that in order to justify occupancy of dual residence (one in Lahore and the other in Faisalabad), Mr Kokab Nadeem had been striving to obtain bogus certificate from the Buildings Department, Lahore that the aforesaid residence occupied by him in Lahore since March 2009 had been handed over to him by the BD in June/July 2011 contrary to the facts that these residences of prisons officers in BPS-19 were constructed in Lahore during ADP schemes of 2007-08.

These residences were completed, allotted and occupied by different prison officers in 2008 and 2009 on the orders of former IG Prisons Mian Farooq Nazir and subsequent orders of Mr Warraich. All officers concerned including Mr Warraich had been occupying (and actually residing) the said residences since 2009 -- a fact known to everyone in the department.

Procuring a bogus certificate regarding “handing over of the said residence in June/July 2011” was an incredible and ill-advised attempt to cover up the illegal occupancy of designated residence of the Faisalabad Central Jail Superintendent since March 2009 by Mr Warraich.

“Besides, the bogus handing over of certificate was seriously inconsistent with the periodical progress reports of the said ADP scheme from 2007-11 and the expenditure incurred out of Annual Repair/Special Repair Funds, etc, during 2009-11 on the said residence. The matter required thorough probe and immediate intervention of the home department.”

Mr Babar further stated that Mr Warraich had still not vacated the designated residence of the superintendent and instead had been exerting illegitimate pressure on the complainant's predecessor, Qazi Muhammad Aslam, who was residing in the house of deputy superintendent adjacent to the superintendent house, to occupy the designated residence of the superintendent jail soon to be vacated by Mr Warraich during the current/next month.

He stated in the letter that he was being deprived of his official right and requested the home secretary to direct Mr Warraich to vacate the designated residence and hand it over to the jailer instead of any irrelevant person and ask the buildings department to abstain from issuing bogus handing-over/taking-over certificate.

He further prayed to the home secretary to direct the IG Prisons to deposit recovery of penal rent on market rate on account of dual occupancy of government residence and order for the payment of compensation in terms of House Rent to the jailer after recovery from Mr Warraich since Jan 30, 2010 (the date of the complainant's posting as jailer).

Mr Babur, when contacted, confirmed that he had got the occupation of house in August this year. He, however, declined to comment further on the issue.