ATTOCK, Feb 10: The anti-corruption department Attock on Tuesday registered a case against six officials of Tehsil Municipal Administration Fatehjang after an inquiry found them involved in a Rs14 million property tax scam during the financial year 2005-06, it has been learnt.

When contacted, an official of the anti-corruption department, Mr Sajjad, confirmed that an FIR had been registered against former tehsil municipal officer Malik Wajid (now posted as TMO Jand), former tehsil officer finance Mohammad Ashhab (now posted at Iqbal Town, Lahore), Mohammad Iqbal, TO inspection and services, Chaudhry Rauf, audit officer, Javed Naeem, tax inspector, and Amjid Javed, clerk (now retried).

He said the inquiry had been started some three months back on a departmental source report about the scam in which the six officials were found involved.

Earlier, a special audit team after the change of the Punjab government unearthed the embezzlement of the Rs14 million which had been received under the head of sale/transfer of property by tampering with the receipt books. The magnitude of the fraud could be gauged from the fact that an amount of Rs850,000 was shown as Rs8,500 by tampering with the receipts of property tax.

The audit team after unearthing the scam had informed the report to the high-ups of the Punjab government for further action. The authorities of TMA Fatehjang had also conducted a preliminary departmental probe that also confirmed the scam and later the report was sent to the district coordination officer Attock for further action.

It may be noted that earlier a similar fraud case involving millions of rupees had also been detected in the TNA. Later, the former TO finance, Mohammad Ashhab, was found guilty of forgery and misappropriation of government money in connivance with five other TMA officials.

Following the inquiry, the DCO had forwarded the report to the secretary local government Punjab with recommendation for appropriate action against the TO. However, the TO remained at the same post for five months, said the sources.