CTD urges action against ‘malicious’ excise officials

Says truck used to carry explosives was illegally registered under two names

LAHORE: The Punjab CTD has recommended that the Excise and Taxation Department take action against an inspector and three agents for their 'malicious' role in getting the truck involved in the Outfall Road blast registered under two different names.



The truck (LPT-7083) was used in the Outfall Road Blast on August 7 in which two people died and over forty were injured. The incident occurred on the route of the Nawaz Sharif rally which was supposed to pass through the area on August 6, but was cancelled at the 11th hour.

The letter, written by CTD Lahore Regional Officer stated that vehicle No LPT-7083 with Chassis No FB113.-14454, was registered by the UBL Okara Branch on the name of Mehboob Alam s/o Amarn Din r/o Multan Road, Renal Khurd, District Okara against CNIC No. 3391990105661.

As per the NADRA online verification system, CNIC No 3391990105661 of Mehboob Alam was fake. A ground check of Mehboob Alam at the said address was also conducted and no record of the man was found. There was also no record of a death certificate of the said person in union councils 101 and 102, which fall in the jurisdiction of the address provided on the CNIC of Mehboob Alam.

Furthermore, there was no voter list record of the CNIC in Sahiwal district. Hence, it was confirmed from multiple sources that Mehboob Alam was a fake entity and no record of his existed either in the NADRA database or on the ground.

According to the record of Excise and Taxation, Mehboob Alam appeared before Inspector Ishaq on September 19, 2016, and a duplicate attendance was marked against rupt No.3/52 of Police Station Shandra in Lahore. The owner record was also updated against the same transaction and the vehicle was transferred by Saif-ul-Rehman, s/o Fazal ur Rehman, r/o Narojaba, PO Nowshera on November 22, 2016.

The duplicate book was Issued on November 28, 2016, as per the laid down procedure. The inspection of transaction for the said DRC was recorded in the computer database by Inspector Hina Zainab. Thereafter, the original registration number was returned personally to one Junaid Jawad Gujjar on November 30, 2016.

The preliminary inquiry shows that all the above procedures were conducted on the same day, however, signatures were backdated by officials.

Letter further stated that token tax of the said vehicle was updated by Inspector Ishaq. IT stated “TAX PAID FROM 01-07-1994 TO 30-06-2016 AT MRA OFFICE KOHAT DATED 18-10-2015 SUBMITTED BY CHAUDHARY JAWAD”. The attendance for duplicate registration book was also marked by Inspector Ishaq against the vehicle.

Furthermore police rupt No.3/52 PS Shandra Lahore, submitted to Inspector Ishaq, was also found to be fake and no token tax record of vehicle No.LPT-7083 existed with the Excise and Taxation Department in K-P.

It was clearly established that when no actual Mehboob Alam and CNIC No.3391990105661 existed, Inspector Ishaq, in cahoots with agents Junaid Chaudhary, Ayub and Jawad, frequently marked the attendance of ghost persons and thereafter updated fabricated/counterfeited token tax record from the MRA office Kohat. The officials were also accused of submitting fake police certificates of loss of the original registration book.



The CTD investigations established that bank personnel were also involved in leasing vehicles to fake people and therefore transferring the same to the excise office.

SSP CTD, in his recommendation, requested the excise department to conduct a proper departmental inquiry against the Inspector Ishaq, Agent Junaid Chaudhary, Agent Jawad, Agent Ayub and any other staff involved in malpractices.

It was also requested that a parallel reference be filed at the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment against the accused officials.

“Tampered records not only hamper the investigation, but also provide loopholes which terrorists exploit,” it was stated.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 19^th, 2017.