Land grabbing case: Registration of FIR against real estate tycoon ordered

Malik Riaz is accused of sending armed men to illegally occupy 300 kanals.

ISLAMABAD:

A district court directed the city police on Monday to register a case against Bahria Town chief Malik Riaz for allegedly grabbing land belonging to lawyers.

Judge Kausar Abbas Zaidi directed the Bhara Kahu Police Station House Officer (SHO) to register a First Information Report (FIR) against the property tycoon for his alleged illegal occupation of land belonging to advocates Faisal Younis and Raja Haroon.

Chaudhry Abdul Aziz, the counsel for the affected lawyers, filed an application on April 19 seeking registration of criminal case against Riaz for allegedly grabbing their land. The next day, the court issued notices to the SSP and Bhara Kahu SHO to submit their replies on Monday.

During the hearing, a sub inspector (SI) told the court that the police have arrested some people from the site and recovered weapons from them.

On this, the judge said it was the duty of the police to register FIRs against them and issued orders to ensure they do so.

The counsel for the petitioners maintained in his application that armed employees of the property tycoon tried to grab their lands, measuring around 300 kanals, near Phulgran and Bhara Kahu on April 19.

He contended that when their family members tried to stop the land grabbers, they opened fire in the air.

Later, villagers called the Rescue 15, which sent a police team headed by Bhara Kahu SHO Chaudhry Akhtar.

He claimed that the Islamabad Inspector General (IG) Bani Amin, within 15 minutes of the arrival of the police, suspended SHO Akhtar and replaced him with Inspector Khalid Masood.

Aziz also contended that the new Bhara Kahu SHO was appointed on the instructions of Malik Riaz and that he facilitated the property tycoon in capturing their family’s lands, which are worth around Rs300 million.

Advocate Aziz also maintained that before the incident, Riaz had sent a pay order of Rs30 million to the lawyers and their families while warning them to accept his offer or be ready to face the consequences.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 24^th, 2012.