LAYYAH, March 28 Fraudsters in connivance with local revenue officials have deprived a family of 206-kanal ancestral agricultural land by preparing fake computerised identity cards.

Gulzar Baig owned 206 kanals of agricultural land in Khata No 74 at Mauza Bait Balu of Kot Sultan union council. He died in 1998 and the land was transferred to his sons Jehangir Baig, Ijaz Baig, Nadeem Baig, Kashif Baig, Naeem Baig, Asif Baig, daughters Nasim Akhtar, Nasreen Akhtar, Parveen Akhtar and widow Shamim Akhtar through mutation No 239 attested on April 28, 1998.

Jehangir Baig, the elder son of Gulzar, gave the land to Manzoor Husain Gurmani on a contract. Quoting the respective patwari, Manzoor told Jehangir that the latter and his family had sold the land to Haq Nawaz and others for Rs700,000.

According to available revenue record, Haq Nawaz and his accomplices prepared fake computerised ID cards of owners and got the land transferred to his name and his other relatives through mutation No 603 entered and attested on March 3, 2009.

The accused were identified as Muhammad Nawaz, Ghulam Ghazi, Ghulam Mustafa, Mureed Ahmed, Abdul Majeed, Mehboob Ahmed, Yaqoob Ahmed, Bashir Ahmed, Nazeer Ahmed, Muneer Ahmed, Sageer Ahmed, Muhammad Arshad, Muhammad Amjad, Muhammad Ajmal, Muhammad Asgher and Muhammad Aziz.

When contacted, Patwari Azam Khan, Girdawar Naeem Mufti and Naib Tehsildar Atta Muhammad said they had done nothing wrong, and attested the mutation by fulfilling all the legal requirements.

Talking to Dawn Jehangir Baig said “I and my family members did not appear before any revenue official for transfer of property. The fraudulent group has prepared fake ID cards and deprived us of our ancestral land.”

Baig said he had filed a plea with the court for cancellation of mutation and sent another application to the anti-corruption establishment.