SAHIWAL: Pakpattan water management district officer himself turns out to be the mastermind of the “blast” in his own office, according to police and some department insiders.

District Police Officer (DPO) Shah Nawaz Sindhila told Dawn on Sunday that the investigations revealed that DO Rana Waqar engaged three men for causing a fire inside the office, using a huge quantity of petrol, but the plan went wrong during its execution, resulting in the huge blast.

According to police and some officials, the actual plan was aimed at implicating three subordinates (sub-engineers) of Mr Waqar in a case, accusing them of setting the office on fire and stealing Rs1 million lying there.

Officials said the row erupted when contracts of three Grade-II sub-engineers -- Mr Usman, Mr Shafi and Mr Khalid -- employed by local water management department for Punjab Irrigated-Agriculture Productivity Improvement Project, could not be extended because of their poor performance.

Though the decision was taken by a committee headed by EDO (agriculture) Muhammad Shafique, on the recommendation of deputy district officer (DDO) Mr Amjad, the DO (Waqar) also endorsed it.

EDO Shafiq said that to avenge denial of contract the three sub engineers, along with an clerk (an office-bearer of All Pakistan Clerks Association), barged in the DO office and physically threw him out.

The sources said that in this backdrop the DO made a plan to implicate his subordinates which went wrong.

Meanwhile, Farid Nagar police on the complaint of Agriculture EDO Muhammad Shafiq registered an FIR (656/15) under section 7 of the Anti Terrorism Act against the three people injured in the blast and the DO.

Local officials of Apca, Pakpattan, have set up a protest camp near EDO office, demanding registration of corruption cases against Rana Waqar. They alleged Mr Waqar planned the blast to conceal his corruption.

Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2015

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