‘Influential figure’ convicted of fraud by Haripur court

Haji Khitab Gul faces up to three years in jail

HARIPUR:

An influential stone-crushing plant owner was convicted of fraud by a Haripur court on Wednesday.

Haji Khattab Gul, the owner of the Soraj Gali Khattabi Gul Crush Plant, responsible for flouting a Supreme Court ban on illegal stone crushing, was apprehended from the court premises.

Gul, according to sources, is also responsible for the deaths of innocent people.

Sources said the accused had issued a counterfeit cheque of Rs10 million to a resident of Soraj Gali for the purchase of a piece of land, leading to the registration of an FIR at Khanpur police station.

Representing the plaintiff, Mohammad Yaqoob, prominent lawyer Sarfraz Ahmed Advocate presented arguments in the court of Senior Civil Judge Omer Azmat.

Following a thorough examination of the evidence, witness testimonies, and arguments presented, Judge Omer Azmat handed down a three-year prison sentence and imposed a fine of Rs50,000 on Haji Khattab Gul, also known as Khattabi.

It is worth noting that, despite opposition from the locals and a ban from the Supreme Court, the accused has continued to operate his stone-crushing plant in ecologically fragile areas.

Abducted newborn rescued

The Haripur police on Tuesday rescued a newborn who was abducted from the gynaecological ward of a government hospital.

Based on the information provided by the sources, the City Police responded promptly, recovering the newborn baby that had been abducted from the DHQ Hospital. The police detained the culprit and registered a case against him under the provisions of kidnapping. Sources said a newborn child was abducted from the Labour Room of the DHQ Hospital.

A case was filed under Sections 363 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code against the accused based on the complaint of Muhammad Javed. Haripur DPO Muhammad Umar Khan constituted a team consisting of DSP Muhammad Sajjad, SHO Chanzeb Tanuli and other officers.

The police team used technical means and in a very short time arrested the accused, the wife of Kamran, and recovered the child from her custody before handing it over to the parents.

Police sources said the hospital staff will also be quizzed while the arrested accused is the subject of additional inquiry.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 26^th, 2023.