ACE revives long-buried land scam against ex-MPA

Police conduct search operation at residence of ex-MPA Salim Sarwar

GUJRAT:

After a lapse of 21 years, the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) has taken action by filing a case against seven individuals, including a former MPA, a former tehsil nazim, and four retired municipal corporation employees.

These individuals are accused of concealing land maps and unlawfully occupying a kanal (8 marlas) of land that belongs to the Auqaf department. This illegal action has resulted in a staggering loss of over 160 million rupees to the government exchequer.

According to the provided details, the Gujarat anti-corruption police station has registered Case 7/23 based on the complaint lodged by Circle Officer Asghar Awan.

The complaint outlines that Chaudhry Saleem Sarwar Jaura, a former Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPA, initiated the construction of Sarwar Gold Plaza in Gujarat, spanning an area of six kanals and one marla at Hasan Chowk.

This complex includes designated spaces of two marlas for the Provincial Government, 19 marlas for Abo Dhaiya, and seven marlas for the Auqaf department.

Former Tehsil Nazim of Municipal Corporation (Q) and prominent League leader, Chaudhry Saat Nawaz Ajnala, along with Building Inspector Tahir Hussain, Town Planner Iftikhar Ahmed, retired former Chief Officer Muhammad Afzal Malhi Advocate, former TOPEC Gohar Rashid, and former draftsman Mirza Fayyaz Baig, allegedly conspired to construct a government plaza in honor of Salim Sarwar.

They unlawfully produced two maps, numbered 1234 and 633, which were deliberately removed from official records. Consequently, an FIR was registered against the seven accused individuals, invoking the provisions of S420/468, 471/409 PT, and PCA 5/2/47.

Mirza Fayaz Baig, a retired draftsman from the designated Municipal Corporation, has been taken into custody by anti-corruption officials and subjected to physical detention for a period of four days, following the order of Criminal Magistrate Section 30, Ahmed Zia Chaudhry. While a search operation was conducted at the residence of ex-MPA Salim Sarwar to locate him, the efforts proved to be unsuccessful.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 12^th, 2023..