13 ‘land grabbers’ arrested, 100 acres recovered

Two officers escape firing by alleged land mafia in Bin Qasim Town.

KARACHI: After an operation was launched by the Anti-Encroachment Cell on Sunday, 13 alleged land grabbers were arrested, two officials escaped firing and public land was retained.

The operation was launched against the land mafia in Bin Qasim Town in an attempt to recover 100 acres of illegally occupied land.

“The government has made its policy and stance clear. No illegally occupied public land will be left unrecovered,” warned revenue department district officer (DO) Shaukat Jokhio.

According to him, the land mafia opened indiscriminate fire when they saw the police. DO Jokhio and Anti-Encroachment Cell (AEC) police station SHO Nayyarul Haq were leading the police convoy and both escaped the firing.

The police resorted to retaliatory firing and encircled the land grabbers. They were compelled to lay down their weapons and surrender, Jokhio said. Consequently, the police arrested 13 alleged members of the land mafia and seized three repeater guns from their possession.

As a result, the AEC police successfully evicted illegal occupiers of the 100-acre amenity plot where the mafia had established Basheer Goth and Ali Bux Magsi Goth. Earlier, the AEC police had told The Express Tribune that the land grabbers made up fake goths, which was the biggest hindrance they faced in launching operations.

Jokhio informed that this operation was completed with the assistance of AEC police’s 200 personnel.

The police have registered five FIRs against the arrested men.

Three FIRs have been registered against the illegal possession of arms under Section 13-D of the Criminal Procedure Code.

SHO Haq told The Express Tribune that the AEC police had done their homework well and because of that no casualty occurred. “Malik Asghar and Ali Bux are the main suspects in cases of illegal occupation of public land, especially in this area,” he said. They both have been booked on the complaint of Bin Qasim Town Gothabad Mukhtiarkar Barkat Ali, he added.

Haq said that others who were arrested by the AEC police after the operation include Razzaque, Ashique, Khadim, Laeeq, Shahab, Ghafoor, Muhammed Khan, Idrees, Ali Akbar, Malik Asghar and Ali Bux.

Two others arrested could not be identified till the filing of this report.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 31^st,  2011.