MULTAN: Police, civil defence and judicial staff personnel have been deployed outside the decades-old Maalkhana located in the premises of the Deputy Commissioner office after a number of cloth pouches of coins have been recovered from a wooden cabinet during demolition.

Old infrastructure of pre- partition buildings of DC office is being demolished to construct new courts for judges after the lawyers had refused to shift the courts and their offices to the new judicial complex and forced the district administration to hand over some area of the DC office with the help of incumbent Chief Justice of Lahore High Court Justice Qasim Khan who directed the district administration to hand over the land for the construction of new court rooms.

The demolition of the structure was under way when two days back labourers broke the lock of the abandoned Maalkhana where Maal Khana No1 is written in Urdu and found a locked wooden cabinet. When the lock of the cabinet was broken it was full of cloth pouches. DC Aamer Khattak and the district and sessions judge were informed when one pouch was opened which was full of coins. The colour of coins was dark black as the building had been locked since decades.

A civil judge and and assistant commissioner headquarters inspected the site and double locked the Maalkhana. Two hand written registers have also been recovered from the cabinet, however one is much rusty and unable to open while the writing on the other one is faded.

The judicial staff was deployed outside the place on the direction of the judge as well as the volunteers of the civil defence and police were deployed.

Meanwhile, rumours whirled around that gold had been recovered from the building and it was being protected by large snakes.

Sources in district and session courts said that one pouch had been opened which is full of coins whose colour had turned black. They said it was being assumed that the same type of coins are in other pouches.

They said that although the coins are yet to be counted, it is being expected that the number of coins is in thousands as approximately about 500 to 1,000 coins are in the pouch which was opened.

They said the Lahore High Court chief justice and the Punjab government have been informed by the district and sessions judge and DC after sealing the Maalkhana and it would be unsealed after any further instructions are received.

An official in DC office said that the building was being used as Maalkhana prior to the Partition probably by the police department. He said as currency, coins or valuable metals have never been deposited with the Maalkhana of civil administration so it surely is a police Maalkhana.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2020