KARACHI: A sessions court has issued warrants for the arrest of five persons, including former deputy commissioner-East, for allegedly helping a land grabber to illegally occupy a piece of land after forcibly dispossessing its owner.

Additional District and Sessions Judge (East) Aleem Ahmed took cognizance of the offence under the Illegal Dispossession Act, 2005 on the basis of an inquiry report of a judicial magistrate.

The court issued bailable warrants for the arrest of then DC-East Mohammad Ali Shah, additional DC-II Younis Dahri, mukhtiarkar Ghulsan-e-Iqbal Wazir Chand Oad, area SHO Sub-Inspector Haji Iqbal and alleged land gabber Riffat Zaman Kiyani in sum of Rs100,000 each.

The court directed the DIG-East to depute an officer not below the rank of SP to execute the warrants and submit a report on July 12.

The sessions court observed that prima facie the version of complainant was supported by three eyewitnesses and further corroborated by documentary evidence and factum of ownership of the complainant over the land in question was not denied.

Apparently, the complainant was the lawful owner of the subject property, which was demolished and subsequently occupied illegally by Kiyani in connivance and with the help of the DC and three other officials, it added.

The court further said that it was astonishing to note the SHO in his report claimed that the property was demolished by the anti-encroachment cell, but the same was outright denied by the anti-encroachment cell director.

“This fact further strengthened the version of complainant regarding forcible dispossession from the properties in question by the proposed accused,” the court in its order said, adding that the complainant got a valid lease and had constructed structure for living on the subject land but the same was demolished without due process of law and handed over to Kiyani by the co-accused in a ruthless manner.

“After perusal of material available on record it is evident that the complainant being lawful owner of the subject property was illegally dispossessed by the proposed accused persons with intent to grab the property of the complainant. Thus, the evidence collected by learned judicial magistrate-I Karachi East, during the course of inquiry is sufficient to constitute offence under section 3 of Illegal Dispossession Act, 2005,” the judge concluded.

Earlier, Judicial Magistrate Mukesh Kumar Talreja had conducted an inquiry and recorded statements of witnesses and also inspected the plot in question in the Architect Eng­ineering Cooperative Hou­sing Society located in Gulistan-i-Jauhar Block 8.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2021