ACE books patwari over graft, record tampering

Complaint says officer tried tactics to take bribe

ISLAMABAD:

The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) police station has registered a case against a patwari (revenue officer) and other relevant officials as well as their alleged patron in a case pertaining to demand bribes and tampering land records.

The first information report (FIR), seen by The Express Tribune, was registered on the complaint of local landowner and developer Shahid Mehmood Yousuf, who alleged that Patwari Muhammad Yaseen of the finance department in Thalian had first demanded bribes from him, and when he refused, the accused altered his land records.

The FIR noted that ACE had initiated an inquiry upon the complaint, which was conducted by the deputy director for investigations in Chakwal. The inquiry recommended registering a case against Patwari Muhammad Yaseen of Mouza Katarian, former revenue officer Saifullah Chaudhary, and two others Mohammad Ishaq and Sakina Bibi. The inquiry also suggested determining the role of another individual said to be a relative of a political figure and other persons of interest.

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The complaint, filed by Yousuf, stated that he owns approximately 300 kanals in the Katarian area. A few months ago, he approached the patwari of the Katarian area situated in the Thalian constituency, to obtain his land records.

However, the patwari delayed the process for fifteen days, citing anti-corruption raids and office closures, it continued.

After persistent efforts, the patwari agreed to meet Yousuf at his home in the Girja area, where he demanded a bribe of Rs200,000. The complainant said he handed over Rs50,000 to the patwari's assistant, Ishaq, who instructed him to contact him again.

After a week of struggling to obtain the land records, the patwari informed Yousuf that a portion of his land was inaccurately registered and needed to be corrected.

The patwari claimed that the deputy commissioner would oversee the process, and the total expenses would amount to Rs5 million. Upon this, Yousuf decided to review the legal procedures and costs before proceeding, the FIR continued.

Several days later, Patwari Yaseen reached out to him again, suggesting they could resolve the issue if he cooperated with them. However, the complainant suspected blackmail and refused the offer.

This disagreement escalated, with threats made against the developer and his manager. On September 2, an employee of the tehsil office named Ashraf contacted the alleged victim, informing him of a notice issued by the patwari, said the FIR.

The notice incorrectly identified the businessman’s land, which did not exist in government records.

Yousuf reached out to Patwari Yaseen for an explanation, but Yaseen feigned ignorance and insisted that he only acted on the deputy commissioner's orders. The patwari accused Rawalpindi's deputy commissioner of corruption too, as per the complaint.

Furthermore, the complainant then contacted Naib Tehsildar Mirza Mansoor, who indicated that he had signed the mentioned documents and that all records were under the suspect's control.

To probe the allegations, the commissioner has appointed an additional deputy commissioner as the inquiry officer and sought a report within ten days.

Efforts to contact the Rawalpindi commissioner were unsuccessful. However, Deputy Commissioner Hasan Waqar Cheema assured that a thorough inquiry was underway and emphasised that if any wrongdoing was established, strict actions would be taken. Hasan Waqar dismissed the allegations against himself as baseless.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 2^nd, 2023.