Retired officers accused of backdating documents in Railways housing fraud

Employee Adil Shehzad submits statement naming nearly 20 Pakistan Railways officials in scam

LAHORE:

Three retired officers have been exposed for their role in the fraudulent allotment of Pakistan Railways’ residential quarters. These individuals allegedly signed backdated papers to make the allotments appear legitimate and to avoid suspicion.

An employee implicated in the scam, Adil Shehzad, has submitted a written statement to the railway administration detailing the involvement of nearly twenty Pakistan Railways officials.

He alleged that the scam involved state inspectors, clerks, photocopy operators, and executive engineers, all part of a well-formed network.

According to documents obtained by The Express Tribune, Shehzad, who played a key role in arranging the allotments, denied the allegations against him in his statement.

He claimed he was being framed, stating that even the house allotted to him was issued on fake documents.

Further, he named three retired executive engineers – Khalid Hassan Qazi, Badr, and Faisal Imran – who, in collaboration with their head clerks and foremen, allegedly prepared backdated documents to facilitate the illegal allotment of quarters in prime locations.

Read: Audio leak exposes alleged misconduct in Railways fraud investigation

The backdating tactic was reportedly used to prevent suspicion or to deny involvement if caught, by claiming their signatures were forged.

Shehzad also identified and accused employees Waqas Zaigham, Hafiz Umair, Haseeb, Rehan Qureshi, Rana Imran, Waqas Tariq, along with state inspectors Rashid, Rasheed, Qasim, Zeeshan, Shahid, Anees, Mubarak Ali, Owais, and Zahid.

Moreover, he disclosed that employees vacating quarters would receive payments ranging from Rs700,000 and above, while those acquiring them paid between Rs500,000 to Rs1 million.

The money was then divided among the members of the group according to their roles.

Shehzad maintained that he was being made a scapegoat for the entire fraud, stating “all allegations against me are baseless,” and added that he had gone into hiding due to threats to his life.