Haleem booked for land-grabbing

Anti-encroachment police raid house of PTI leader, arrest one of his employees

KARACHI:

The Anti-Encroachment Zone 1 Police on Sunday again raided the house of the Leader of Opposition in Sindh Assembly, Haleem Adil Sheikh, questioned the staff and left after sometime.

During the raid, many police mobiles from various precincts had surrounded the house of the PTI leader near the National Stadium.

Earlier on Saturday, police booked Sheikh for encroaching upon 40 acres of land. A large contingent of Anti-Encroachment Zone 1 police raided the residence of Sheikh in the early hours of Sunday.

Police stood at a distance from Sheikh's residence for more than half an hour. After receiving orders, more than a dozen police mobiles rushed on Sheikh's house and asked the people sitting outside to call him.

Police said a case of illegal occupation of 40 acres of land of Manghopir Northern Bypass has been registered against Sheikh at an Anti-Encroachment Zone 1 police station. However, the people present at the PTI leader's home said that he had gone somewhere in his car with the former Sindh governor Imran Ismail.

A police officer insisted that he has information that Sheikh was present inside, on which the PTI leader's staff said that if you have a lady searcher and a valid search warrant, send her inside.

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However, the police officers did not enter the house and asked to inquire about a person sitting on a chair outside the home. The man thought for a moment and said his name was Ali and said he was an employee of Haleem Adil Sheikh.

The police officers present there, after contacting their superiors on the phone, took the man into custody and took him along within police mobile.

People at Sheikh's house told The Express Tribune that someone on the phone kept giving directions to the police who took Raheel with them.

After the incident, PTI MPA Raja Azhar and a member of the National Assembly went to the Anti0Encroachment Zone I police station but were not allowed to enter the station, and the gates were closed.

Meanwhile, Sheikh has acquired interim bail from the special anti-terrorism court. The court granted interim bail to the three accused, including Sheikh, and restrained the police from arresting Sheikh and his accomplices.

The court ordered each accused to submit a bond of Rs50,000. Further, court in its order sought a response from the prosecutor.