Pilferage: SHO’s comments sought on Baghanpura gas theft petitions

LAHORE:

An additional district and sessions judge on Wednesday sought comments from the Baghbanpura SHO on seven petitions moved by the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) alleging gas theft.

With the new complaints, the number of gas theft petitions from Baghbanpura area has reached at 86. Earlier, the SNGPL had moved 79 petitions against those allegedly caught stealing gas and illegally supplying it to at least 400 houses.

At a previous hearing, the judge had directed the SHO to record statements of SNGPL officials on 36 petitions.

In their petitions, the SNGPL had said that the suspects were stealing gas for their factories and supplying it to their servants and to other residents of the neighbourhood. Petitioners Sharafat Ali Chaudhary, Waqas Bukhari, Iftikhar Akbar, Maqsood Iqbal told the court that SNGPL teams had raided various parts of Baghbanpura and discovered gas pilferage worth millions.  They said among others, Muhammad Amanat, Muhammad Asif, Masroor Ahmed were supplying gas illegally to 80, 68 and 25 houses, respectively. They said the SNGPL teams had visited the SHO with their complaints but he had not entertained them. They asked the court to direct the SHO to register FIRs against the suspects.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 5^th, 2016.