LAHORE:
A local court in Lahore on Tuesday directed police officials to register a first information report (FIR) against nine accused including a provincial minister belonging to the ruling PTI for allegedly attempting to occupy land illegally.
Petitioner Abid Ansaar Khan had moved the district and sessions court, seeking registration of a case against the accused including Punjab Minister for Local Government and Community Development Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed after police did not take any action on his complaint.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Hafiz Rizwan Aziz said in his order issued on Tuesday that, “The SHO concerned despite having been approached by the petitioner has not discharged his statutory duties stipulated under section 154 of Cr.P.C. prima facie a cognisable offence is made out from the allegations of the petitioner against the proposed accused”.
“Therefore, the SHO Mustafa Town Lahore is directed to record statement of the petitioner in his verbatim and if from the statement of the petitioner, a cognisable offence is made out, the SHO shall register an FIR in terms of section 154 Cr.P.C and then proceed further strictly in accordance with law.”
After the registration of the FIR, the judge directed the investigating officer to “entertain oral as well as documentary version of the accused, if any, bring it on the record, investigate the same and cause arrest of the accused in case and when he gets himself satisfied regarding correctness of the allegations levelled against the accused by the complainant”.
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The petitioner said in his application that he first approached the relevant police station for the registration of FIR against accused — Zahid Gujjar, Sufi Abdul Ghani, Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed and six other suspects but the police officials did not act on his complaint.
He told the court that he is owner of a plot situated at Hidayatullah Mustafa Town Scheme in the provincial capital.
The building plan of the suit property was approved by the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) and the petitioner is carrying out the construction work over the said property as per sanctioned building plan but the proposed accused along with others tried to occupy the plot and threatened him to kill, read the petition.
However, the complainant said the accused vacated the property following the intervention of local residents.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, Rasheed rejected the allegations, saying that a few month back an overseas Pakistani visited him and requested to get his occupied plot vacated.
He said the plot was located in his constituency and registered on the name of a woman who is a wife of additional director general of LDA, Rana Tika.
Rasheed said he called the officials concerned and directed them to resolve the issue of the overseas Pakistani at the earliest.
He added that since the day he visited the disputed property, a smear campaign had been launched against him on social media implying that he was involved in occupying land.
Rasheed said land grabber’s mafia is united in Pakistan but the PTI government will not let them go scot-free.
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