Three booked in Nishat Cinema land grab

JIT report finds tax officers, accomplice guilty of forgery, misuse of authority

RAWALPINDI:

An important development has emerged in the alleged scandal related to the valuable land of the historic Nishat Cinema in Rawalpindi. The Lahore Anti-Corruption has registered a case against two officers of the Excise and Taxation Department and another individual in the light of the investigation report of the six-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT).

The investigation report claims to have proven the allegations of forgery, misuse of authority and illegal alteration of government land records. According to anti-corruption officials, during the inquiry, it was revealed that despite a stay order by the court on the disputed land, the building plan was approved, while the process of buying and selling the property also continued.

The FIR filed stated that the title of the property was also illegally changed on the basis of the general power of attorney. Excise and Taxation Department Rawalpindi officer Waseem Haider, Inspector Muhammad Fazeel Ajmal Bhatti and citizen Malik Muhammad Arif have been named in the case.

According to the FIR, the accused, Arif, allegedly played a role in changing the title of the property through a general power of attorney. The case has been registered in the Anti-Corruption Lahore on the complaint of Circle Officer Muhammad Riaz Bhatti. Officials say that further investigation is underway.