Cases registered against land mafia members

The Rawalpindi police have started taking action against members of the land mafia, registering at least three cases in this regard.

In the first case, MA* told the Airport police that when he went to his roof in the Dera Noor Sehwan area, he saw all residents of the locality gather in his street. People including Kami Sheikh, Raja Mani, Waqar, Moeez, Shakeel, Saqib along with 15 unidentified people started firing in the air.

MA said that he immediately called the police on its helpline '15'. But the culprits dispersed before the police arrived. Later, while officers were still present, Mani called MA and started threatening him. MA said that he put the call on the loudspeaker and police officers heard the threats being made.

In another case filed at the Rawat police station, NA*, the caretaker of the PCBL office, said that in May, Kamran Iqbal and Talha along with 50 unidentified armed men and heavy machinery including seven cranes and ten tractor-trolleys came to the spot on government vehicles.

They held the security guards Amir Ali, Zafar Iqbal and Amir Hussain at gunpoint. They then forcibly occupied the land while threatened to kill the security guards. NA said that the suspects allegedly snatched the official deed of the land. Later, members of the mafia built a 350 feet long and about 3 feet high boundary wall.

Similarly, Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) Scheme Inspector Tariq told the Chauntra police station that an operation was carried out on January 11 and 12 in the presence of police officers against a private housing society where unauthorised development was underway.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 11^th, 2020.