Thatta DC accused of forging record of 400 acres of land

Revenue records tampered to unlawfully grab 202 acres of land in Sanghar

HYDERABAD/ KARACHI:

The Pakistan Peoples Party's MPA Syed Riaz Hussain Shah Sherazi has blamed Deputy Commissioner of Thatta district Asad Ali Khan for forging land record of thousands of acres of land worth tens of billions of rupees.

Addressing a press conference at Thatta Press Club on Friday, Sherazi alleged that the DC has allotted large tracts of land through 70 to 80 judicial orders.

According to him, the inquiry team of the caretaker CM Justice (Retd) Maqbool Baqar had cancelled 17 allotment orders for 400 acres of land. However, he claimed, the DC has restored the cancelled leases.

"Many pieces of land along 40 kilometres long stretch of the road from Nooriabad to M9 Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway can be seen covered with huge boundary walls," he said. He urged the incumbent CM Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah to initiate an inquiry through Sindh Anti-Corruption Establishment against DC Khan and his associates in the district administration.

"A large-scale forgery has been done with the state land in Kohistan [mountainous areas in Thatta]," he asserted. The MPA recalled that the Sindh Assembly had passed a resolution for regularisation of villages. He demanded that 800 villages in his district should be immediately regularised.

Sanghar land scam

A staggering 202 acres of land in Sanghar district of Sindh has been illegally grabbed allegedly after tampering with the records in connivance with Revenue Department officials, to construct a petrol pump and a residential project, The Express Tribune learnt on Friday.

The preliminary inquiry initiated by the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE), prompted by a complaint filed by Yuosuf Gabol, the rightful owner of the land, has unearthed several disturbing revelations.

According to the findings of the ACE inquiry, the revenue officers purportedly engaged in a plot to manipulate the land accounts, enabling the unauthorised commencement of the petrol pump and housing scheme. Rana Wajid's acquisition of a licence from an oil marketing company is alleged to have been forged, while fake No Objection Certificates (NOCs) from the Mukhtiarkar were also fraudulently obtained.

The ACE has issued notices to the suspects, including Ashfaq Sriwal, Imdad Sriwal, Murad Sriwal, Ashraf Sriwal, Rana Wajid, and others allegedly involved in the scandal. The investigation officer has reached out to the Mukhtiarkar, requesting statements from all accused.